


Moonbeam

by eexiee, gashinaya (naemamdero)



Category: EXO (Band), VIXX, เดือนเกี้ยวเดือน | 2 Moons The Series (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Crossover, First Love, Love Triangles, M/M, Slow Burn, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-01-29 21:43:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 61,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12639750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eexiee/pseuds/eexiee, https://archiveofourown.org/users/naemamdero/pseuds/gashinaya
Summary: Junmyeon goes to university, expecting to meet his old crush but not expecting to be roped into a beauty pageant in the process. (Based on Two Moons the Series.)





	1. 1회

**Author's Note:**

> Happy 100xoverfest!! Please excuse any spelling inconsistencies. [And here is Lia's accompanying art!](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/100xoverfestRound2Nov/works/12674313)

Junmyeon and Chanyeol are sitting in the library, anxiously awaiting the results of their applications to SMT University. Although he would never let Chanyeol know, Junmyeon doesn’t want to look. If he looks that means he’ll know whether or not he’ll be going to SMT University—or any university, to be exact.

He bites the bullet and clicks the “Check Application Status” button.

“Accepted.” He does a double take before turning back to Chanyeol.

“Oh my god. I’m in. I’m in!” he cries, and Chanyeol grins at first, until Junmyeon grabs him by the neck and bounces up and down in his seat.

“Are you happy?” Chanyeol asks after Junmyeon releases his hold on Chanyeol’s neck.

“Of course I am,” Junmyeon replies. His cheekbones seem to be stuck permanently up. SMT University is one of the highest-ranking universities in the country. Chanyeol is already guaranteed a place due to the bridging program their high school has with SMT University. Junmyeon, however, despite being decently good in academics, was not actually excellent in any subjects. He had good reason to be nervous about being accepted, but it seems fate wanted to reward him for some past good deed.

“You’re going to the same uni as me!” exclaims Chanyeol. Junmyeon nods his head enthusiastically. “And _him,_ ” Chanyeol says with a drop in his tone, leaning in. The smile on Junmyeon’s face drops too.

Junmyeon pretends not to know what Chanyeol’s talking about. “ _Him_ who?”

“Don’t tell me you forgot about Wu Yifan already,” Chanyeol teases.

“You mean the man who broke my heart into pieces with minimal effort? Yeah, I wish I could forget about him.” Back in second year of high school, Junmyeon was one of many who fell hard for a high school senior named Wu Yifan. But things happened. And for Junmyeon, they were not good things. But life must go on; Junmyeon chooses not to run away. This time, he’s going to face it head on.

“How long has it been?” Chanyeol asks. Junmyeon reckons Chanyeol is still talking about Wu Yifan.

“I don’t know, a year?” A year...It’s been a whole year since he last saw Yifan.

“No, how many years have you been _pining_ over him?” Junmyeon glares at his best friend. Yes, he has been harbouring romantic feelings for Yifan for a long time. If a baby was born the moment Junmyeon fell for Yifan, that baby would already be in kindergarten by now. “Long enough for me to have like, twelve? Thirteen girlfriends? I can’t remember. I thought you’d end up being a monk for keeping your chastity for so long.” Junmyeon’s glare intensifies. Chanyeol is used to that, though. “But anyway!” Chanyeol takes a sip of his cold drink before he continues, “now that you’ve gotten to this point, it’s time for you to finally be in his spotlight. And I, your eternal wingman, promise to help you in whatever way I can.”

Junmyeon tuts while he shakes his index finger at Chanyeol. “Get this straight, okay? I’m not going there to chase after him. I’m completely, _one hundred percent,_ over him.” Junmyeon points at his best friend, who looks back skeptically.

“You say that, and yet I get the feeling that you’re not over him at all,” Chanyeol replies with much confidence. “Just wait, you two will definitely get together."

Junmyeon gives a hard, questioning look at his best friend. “I don’t get why are you so supportive of us getting together. Have you forgotten what happened to me before?”

Chanyeol clicks his tongue. “ _Of course_ I remember. But don’t you think it’s a sign for you to do something, now that you’re going to the same school as him? Maybe God is giving you a second chance to start over.”

Junmyeon scoffs at Chanyeol’s ridiculous remark. “There’s no such thing, Chanyeol. As a matter of fact, _this_ is the chance for me to start fresh. Plenty of fish in the sea, you know?” Junmyeon gives a smug look at his best friend, “I just need to reel some in.”

“Oho,” Chanyeol comments sarcastically, “and what if the one that takes the bite is Wu Yifan?”

“Easy,” Junmyeon swiftly answers, “That will never happen if I don’t cast the bait towards him in the first place.”

Chanyeol oohs as a reply, which is honestly very grating to hear. “Look at this little boy getting all confident. See, I _know_ you, my friend. Even if you don’t cast the line, fishes are going to flock at you. Get it? _You_ are the bait. And when a big fish like Yifan comes at you, I am pretty sure you’ll be pulled right into the water."

Junmyeon gives Chanyeol a piercing glare and then mutters through his gritted teeth, “Fuck you, Park Chanyeol. Fuck. You.” Chanyeol makes a dismissive gesture with a wave of his giant hand. “Nah, I’m not that desperate.”  
  
For people who don’t know how far back Junmyeon and Chanyeol have been friends, they might think that the two classmates hate each other. But they have been together since middle school, and these kinds of words are merely proof of their close relationship.  
  


“Though,” Chanyeol adds, and Junmyeon is conditioned to pay attention to his best friend even though he really wants to ignore him right now. “I wonder if you’re going to end up in the same dorm block with him…Wouldn’t that be fun?” Chanyeol wonders aloud.

Junmyeon suddenly gives an eerily sweet smile which alarms his best friend; it’s never good when Junmyeon smiles like that. “Chanyeol-ah,” says Junmyeon, voice as sugary as his smile, while he calmly closes the laptop. “Just shut your mouth.” Chanyeol shifts his gaze somewhere as he taps his legs faster.

Little does Junmyeon knows that destiny really likes to fuck him over.

  
  


~*~

  
  


Junmyeon surveys the truck, looking to see if there’s anything he may have left behind. “I think that’s it,” he tells Jaesuk, his family’s longtime assistant. Smiling at the crew gratefully, he grabs the last of his things that he can carry to his dorm room himself.

“Young master, don’t forget to call the boss once in a while, okay?” Jaesuk reminds Junmyeon of his filial duty. His dad owns a large car dealership and Junmyeon is his only son.

“Yes uncle, I’ll remember.” Despite the staff being formal to him, Junmyeon considers them his family.

Junmyeon watches as the truck becomes smaller and smaller in his line of sight. _Urgh, I’m so hungry,_ Junmyeon thinks. His throat and stomach never agree with each other whenever he has to take long rides on big vehicles (not that it happens often), so he decided not to eat beforehand. Despite successfully completing the ride just now, his stomach is currently begging to be filled. Junmyeon tries to spot a snack vending machine but he finds none. He groans to himself, then makes up his mind to find the cafeteria after he gets the last of his things into his new room.

“Oh,” comes a chattering of voices behind him, “look at that hotshot with his moving company.” Junmyeon slouches a bit, hoping that the laughter coming from them is not directed at him. He’s not really in the mood to be taunted today—his stomach is empty and it’s making him cranky. “Ah, young master,” they jeer, “he has the moving company help him move two bags, what a high-born son.”

Junmyeon waits for them to walk away, knowing that the best thing is not to fight back. But he can’t help but be annoyed by the teasing. “Fuck off,” Junmyeon mutters in a voice he thought was too quiet for anyone to hear. But the next thing he knows, there’s a tap on his shoulder.

“Excuse me,” comes a terse voice, “do you have something to say?” Junmyeon whips around and is about to tell the stranger off when he realizes it’s _not_ a stranger. That’s Yifan. Suddenly Junmyeon is absolutely tongue tied as he looks up—way up—at this familiar face. A high-and-mighty smirk blooms on Yifan’s mouth. “Ah, so silent now,” he tuts, “I guess you don’t have the balls to say it to my face, hm?”

Junmyeon knows that Yifan was sometimes a bit of a jerk back in high school. Despite that, Junmyeon still fell for him. But today is not the day for Junmyeon to just shut up. He is hungry and cranky. His mind can’t think straight.

“So what if I hired a moving company? Is there something wrong with that?” Finally Junmyeon’s voice returns to him, and it’s not a pleasant homecoming.

Yifan seems to be surprised by the reply for a few moments before he shrugs disdainfully. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with your arms though? Can’t use your own hands like a man?”

Junmyeon furrows his brow in frustration. Why is this upperclassman being so belligerent to someone he clearly doesn’t recognize—someone he sees as a stranger? Is this what they call ‘hazing?’

“My dad already paid for the service! To refuse it would be wasteful and disrespectful.”

“Seems like young master can’t do anything on his own,” he says, looking down on Junmyeon. “You know, daddy isn’t going to be here to help you do things from now on. Here, young master, you’re on your own.”

Junmyeon doesn’t know if he’s about to cry or scream but he does what he can to collect himself before gritting his teeth. “In that case, _sunbaenim,_ ” he growls, “allow me to excuse myself to collect the rest of my things. Thank you _so_ much for your concern.” He hoists the last of his bags up in his arms and walks past Yifan as fast as he can.

From the day he received admission at this university, Junmyeon knew he would get to see Yifan again in one way or another. But that was not the reunion he’d anticipated, and he doesn’t know how he’s going to face Yifan after this. What a jerk! What a brat! Junmyeon wants to hate him, he wishes he could forget about him.

But for some reason, he can’t.

  
  


~*~

  
  


“Well well well, what do you know? You really ended up in the same dorm as him.” Junmyeon rolls his eyes at Chanyeol’s mocking tone. “Come _on_ now,” adds Chanyeol, “can’t you see that this is The Sign?”

“Ah yes, I can see it _very_ clearly. It’s a big ass sign that says ‘FUCK YOU’ in huge, lit up letters.” Junmyeon stabs the piece of fried tofu in front of him. “Did I destroy a country or something in my past life?”

“Maybe, maybe not.” Chanyeol replies. “Though, I can’t believe that your Yifan said that to you.”

Junmyeon looks at Chanyeol is disbelief. “What do you mean _my_ Yifan? You wanna die?”

Chanyeol grins at Junmyeon. Junmyeon realizes that Chanyeol does that to rile him up, and it’s working. Junmyeon then huffs, contenting himself to take a big bite of his tofu.

“Maybe he doesn't recognize you. I mean, you didn't even talk to him back in high school. And remember how you used to be back then? You were so skinny, I thought I could break you with just my bare hands. But look at you now. You got rid of your nerdy glasses, got your braces off, gained these cute—” Chanyeol reaches out to pinch Junmyeon’s cheeks, an action Junmyeon swiftly evades, “—cheeks. You have never looked better, Junmyeon. And I can see why he doesn’t recognize you.”

“Stop it…” Junmyeon tells his best friend. To hear those compliments coming from a brash person like Chanyeol is still an awkward thing for Junmyeon. But Junmyeon agrees that this version of himself is the best he has ever been. Seems like gaining weight and self-respect after getting heartbroken is not all that bad.

“So…what are you going to do about this?” Chanyeol asks, emphasizing the last word by drawing a lopsided circle in the air with the fry he is holding.

“About what?” Junmyeon furrows his eyebrows, not getting the question.

“About him not recognizing you.” Chanyeol finally eats the fries.

“Isn’t that better? I’d prefer he not remember me.”

Chanyeol hums. “I see. So you want him not to remember the ‘before,’ you want to appeal with the ‘after.’”

Junmyeon takes one of Chanyeol’s last few fries wordlessly before throwing it towards his best friend’s face (“Hey!” Chanyeol shouts, “My fries!”) “Talk nonsense again and I’m going to throw something more solid next time.” Chanyeol bends down and bemoans the tragic death of the fallen fry on the floor.

Somehow Junmyeon’s eyes manage to catch a sight of a group of three guys sitting at the opposite table. All of them are wearing sports uniforms; one of them, the one that is right in the line of Junmyeon’s vision, is wearing a white jersey.

And then, his mind travels.

The plain white jersey now has red piping, ‘CHEONGUK’ written on the chest with number 11 below it. The face of the stranger now changes into a face that he knows; Wu Yifan.

Junmyeon stares at ‘Yifan’ who now has his hair plastered on a damp forehead and sweat dripping down the side of his face. ‘Yifan’ is smiling as he listens to his friends talking, and Junmyeon unconsciously wishes that ‘Yifan would smile the same way at him. Like on cue, ‘Yifan’ turns towards Junmyeon and smiles. _So handsome,_ Junmyeon thinks to himself.

Junmyeon remembers the fluttering in his chest he used to get whenever he saw Yifan like that, hanging out with his friends after a game. Girls would crowd around Yifan and his clique, and skinny Junmyeon would easily get drowned amongst those hormonal teenage girls. Junmyeon etched the image of Yifan in his most attractive state so when Junmyeon would come back home, he could daydream about his crush.

Junmyeon doesn’t know why the memory is suddenly coming back to him now. (Or maybe he does.)

“—myeon.” Chanyeol calls for him. Junmyeon snaps out of his reverie.

“Why do you keep staring at them?” Chanyeol whisper shouts at him.

“Was I?” he asks, and Chanyeol nods. Junmyeon looks over at the group of guys, noting that all of them now are looking back at him.

Chanyeol turns towards them to apologize on Junmyeon’s behalf. “Sorry, my friend spaces out a lot.” Junmyeon takes the cue and gives a slight bow towards them as he apologizes loud enough for the group to hear. “Yah,” Chanyeol says after the group of three remove themselves from the table. “What the hell were you dreaming about, huh? You had your mouth hanging open just now.”

“Really? I did?” Junmyeon goes wide-eyed at Chanyeol’s comment.

“Yeah! You looked like when you were drooling over your crush back in high school. Did you fall for one of them? No way…”

Junmyeon suddenly finds that he’s very hungry for the unfinished tofu in front of him and stuffs his face with it, pretending not to hear his best friend’s scarily accurate observation.

  
  


~*~

  
  


“So who do you have as your microbio professor?” asks a chemistry major who’s sitting behind him. Junmyeon is now separated from his best friend; Chanyeol is currently with his engineering major classmates somewhere else in the university while Junmyeon is here with the rest of science majors.

“Ah, I have Cho- _sunsaengnim_ ,” Junmyeon replies. The freshmen are chattering among themselves as they wait for the program coordinator to tell them why they’ve been gathered here.

“Okay, everyone!” the program coordinator calls to attract their attention. “My name is Kibum and I’m your freshman program coordinator. So, ah, we’ve got a bit of a problem. Your faculty hasn’t chosen your Moons and Stars yet and the practice for the the Campus Moon and Star competition starts tomorrow. So we’re going to give you ten minutes to choose the faculty’s representatives. Until this thing is finished, there will be no lunch.”

The chattering intensifies; some voicing their disagreement at the sudden announcement and some already picking out candidates among each other. Amidst it all, Seungwan, who is also a biology major, asks him about the Moon and Star Competition. Junmyeon realizes he also doesn’t know what the competition is about.

“Oh, the legend of Moon and Star?” Sunyoung, who is also in the same class, butts in. Junmyeon and Seungwan look at her, since she seems ready to explain. “The legend says that once there was a couple of heavenly beings who loved being on Earth so much that they abandoned their position in the Heavens. The Emperor of Heaven was so mad at them; he wanted to make it so that these two would never again walk on Earth. The man turned into the Moon, the woman became the Star.”

 _I think I have heard of this before,_ Junmyeon thinks. Being turned into rocks or balls of gas floating in space is indeed quite a cruel punishment.

“What does that have to do with this competition?” Seungwan presses for more information.

Sunyoung shrugs, “Oh, it’s just like a beauty pageant; just a cultural activity for the students.”

 _Beauty pageant_ , Junmyeon scoffs. _I definitely can’t be in it._

“Speaking of that, Junmyeon-ah,” Junmyeon turns to Seungwan as she calls his name, “you seem to be a good candidate for our major.”

Junmyeon looks at her in disbelief. “Me? Are you kidding?”

The other classmates suddenly pop their heads up like meerkats in the Serengeti and turn to look at Junmyeon, relaying words of agreement with Seungwan’s suggestion.

The chattering noise dies down suddenly; instead there is a collective sound of people gasping in awe. Junmyeon wonders what is happening right now.

“Kids! We have a special person here with us.”

Junmyeon diverts back his attention towards Kibum. Standing beside the program coordinator is a very special person indeed.

“Introducing our Medical and also Campus Moon from last year, Wu Yifan!”

The girls in the faculty scream and squeal, but Junmyeon’s breath hitches in his throat. He’s honestly not ready to see Yifan again, not after what happened last time. But in he comes, taking Junmyeon’s breath away like he always does. His combed jet black hair is shining under the sun. He’s wearing an untucked white shirt with his sleeves folded up to his elbows, and his sleek black slacks and leather shoes give him a dashing look. He looks gorgeous and tall as ever, and Junmyeon just can’t hate him. He can’t.

“Yifan, do you have any advice you’d like to give our science freshmen?” Kibum says.

“Ah…” Yifan hesitates, looking bored, as if this is the last place he wants to be right now. “Do your best.”

“That’s it? That’s all you want to say?”

Yifan gives a nonchalant nod.

“Well…Thank you so much, Dr. Yifan!”

The aforementioned ‘Dr. Yifan’ gives a pointed look towards the program coordinator. Kibum is somehow not affected by it.

Yifan then turns to leave. He looks back over his shoulder, surveying the crowd for a moment. The girls scream again, ferociously chattering between themselves about how hot Yifan is and whether or not they have a chance with him. Kibum, too, is beaming with pride. But Junmyeon’s heart is just battering in his chest, hoping that Yifan won’t see him in the crowd. Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—Yifan doesn’t seem to notice Junmyeon and he leaves as quickly as he’d arrived.

“Okay, with that inspiration complete, it’s time to figure out who it’s going to be! You can nominate someone or yourself, okay? And then we’ll have a bit of a Q&A to decide who your Moon and Star will be. Go!” Kibum announces excitedly.

The girl next to Seungwan grins at Junmyeon. “I really think it should be you,” she says, and the students around them nod in enthusiastic agreement.  
  


“That’s ridiculous...” Junmyeon protests, but the others nudge him excitedly.

“Why not? You’re very good looking,” one of the girls says. “I think you’ll make a great Moon.”

“I agree,” another girl says. “People will like you!”

“I really don’t want to, though!” Junmyeon huffs. That somehow makes some girls in his class coo at him; Junmyeon doesn’t understand why.

“Hey, besides,” Seungwan adds, “there’s no guarantee that you’ll get picked. Just go there for our sake, ok?” (“We need to eat,” add some others in front. “We get lunch after this.”)

Junmyeon’s habitual pout makes its way onto his face. Now even Sunyoung is cooing at him.

“Biology! Where’s biol—oh here you are. Only Star?” Kibum looks at the pretty girl who’s gone up to be the Biology Star rep. “Where’s the Moon rep for biology?” Kibum’s high-pitched voice pierces the air.

“We nominate Junmyeon!” Seungwan shouts before Junmyeon can stop her.

“Great!” Kibum smiles. “Come up here then!” Junmyeon reluctantly joins the other nominees at the front and surveys the crowd. The students around him smile at him reassuringly, while his meerkat classmates back in their seats give him multiple thumbs up.

“We’re going to choose by asking you all a question, and who ever answers the best wins!”

Junmyeon stands up and down on his toes, a habit he developed that acts up whenever he is nervous. He just wants to go back to his seat...

“And the question is….”

  
  


~*~

  
  


“You’re Science Moon? Our Junjun is Science Moon?”

Junmyeon rolls his eyes as the sound of his best friend’s laughter booming through the phone’s speaker. Yes, unbelievable as it sounds, Junmyeon has been picked as the Moon for the Science Faculty. His classmates were eating heartily while he couldn’t even swallow his lunch, trying to process the fact that he’d be competing in a freaking _beauty pageant_.

The sound of Chanyeol choking from laughing so hard tones down the annoyance Junmyeon is currently experiencing for his best friend. “Serves you right.”

“I’m dying,” Chanyeol continues, still gasping for air.

“Just die then,” comes Junmyeon’s nonchalant reply. No pity for that big oaf.

“Congratulations though, you are one step closer to your future husband!”

Junmyeon clicks his tongue. “You’re lucky that you’re not in front of me or I would throw this phone at your face.” The other end of the phone is booming with boisterous laughter.

“Really, though. You do know that Yifan is the Campus Moon from last year, right? And you know about what previous years’ Moons and Stars have to do.”

Junmyeon had heard about that in passing from Kibum. Apparently the Stars and Moons from the previous year have to be the mentors for the candidates of the current year. Since Junmyeon is the representative for the Science Faculty, Hyungsik, who was last year’s Science Moon, should be the one in charge for Junmyeon. However, Kibum told Junmyeon that Hyungsik is studying abroad this semester, so Kibum is unofficially his mentor.

“So what? He’s not in my major.”

“Of course I know he’s not in _your_ major, but since he’s the Campus Moon, he has to take care of _everyone_.”

Junmyeon bites his lower lip. After that first day, Junmyeon hoped not to cross paths with Yifan again, but it seems like the universe just wants to make them to bump into each other more often. A smile unknowingly creeps onto his face, a small tinge of something akin to excitement now budding in his heart. _Wait,_ Junmyeon stops himself, _why am I smiling? Am I actually happy about getting to see him more often? The one that broke my heart? Junmyeon, get your act together!_

Junmyeon moans in despair, his brain now having a one on one pep talk with his erratic heart. “Why me…”

“Yeah, why you?” Chanyeol agrees with Junmyeon, and Junmyeon doesn’t know whether to get offended or not. “How did you get picked again?”

Junmyeon releases a sigh. “They just asked us a question and I just answered.”

“What was the question then?” asks Chanyeol. Junmyeon hums as he thinks, reluctant to tell even his best friend about it. Chanyeol seems to be getting the hint of Junmyeon’s reluctance. “Is it something you can’t tell?”

“Well…” Junmyeon drags on. From his bed, he scans his new room. The room came furnished with a bed, a side table, a desk, a chair, and a bookshelf. It’s a rather plain room with plain furniture, but Junmyeon did his best to make it home. He filled the bookshelf with his favorite books and manhwa volumes and set up a lamp with a soft light to help him read when it’s dark out. His gaze falls towards the vanity desk that came with the room at the corner. Junmyeon decorated the top of the desk with frames of pictures of him with significant people in his life; Chanyeol included.

The reflection of the mirror reveals something that he wants to hide. From this angle, Junmyeon can clearly see a collage of pictures of Yifan from high school attached to the back of one of the frames. Junmyeon remembers spending his time admiring the person in the collage, etching Yifan’s features onto the back of his brain, hoping that his crush would appear in his dreams.

“They asked me, ‘what is love?’” Junmyeon’s gaze fixed to the reflection of the collage in the mirror. All of them, also, are shots of Yifan not looking at the camera. Just like Yifan who never looked at Junmyeon back then. Not even once. “I just answered honestly,” he concludes, and the laughter he expected from Chanyeol never comes. Chanyeol understands, and Junmyeon’s heart throbs.  
  


 

~*~

  
  


_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

Junmyeon groans into his pillow. The knocking isn’t coming from his door, but it is so _loud_ it proves to be more effective at waking him up than his alarm clock.

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

“Oh my god just get the fucking doooooor.” Junmyeon grabs the pillow between his knees and puts it on his exposed ear to block the noise. The pillow fails to be a barrier because Junmyeon can hear each and every word of what the girl outside is saying (either because he has supernatural hearing or the walls are really thin).

“Oh, Yifan! Nice to see you early in the morning.”

_Yifan?_

_That Yifan?_

_Yifan is here?_

“Hey, Tiff. Sorry for waking you up this early. I need to borrow your neuro notes.”

“Oh…I thought you wanted to ask me out for breakfast.” Her tone is teasing but Junmyeon knows that she is disappointed.

“Next time I’ll treat you, ok?” This ‘Yifan’ who is talking sounds so gentle and kind. A small part of his heart stings with pain upon realizing that he would never hear that tone directed at him.

“I’ll hold you to that promise.” She is clearly flirting with Yifan.

Junmyeon hears the sound of the door closing. Assuming that they’ve now parted ways, Junmyeon gets out of his bed, tiptoeing to his door and carefully opening it. Through the small opening he manages to get a glimpse of a tall person leaning against the wall of his front neighbour’s room. Without his glasses he has to squint hard to make out the details of the tall guy, but it’s no doubt that it is the same Wu Yifan that constantly plaguing his mind lately.

Yifan seems to sense that someone is watching him and he looks around, conveniently noticing Junmyeon’s head peeking through the door. It takes a moment for Junmyeon to realize that Yifan is looking back at him.  
  
“Fuck,” Junmyeon curses, swiftly disappearing back into his room and locking his door shut. His legs are losing strength; he drops down on the floor the moment he locks himself in.

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

Junmyeon’s thumping heart is already about to leap out of his chest; the loud knocking from the other side of _his own door_ only makes his impending heart attack more likely.

“Young master,” Junmyeon hears. “I saw you just now. Come out and greet your _sunbae_ properly.”

Junmyeon hears the rattle of his door handle. _What the hell? Is he crazy or what?_

“You better come out now or I’ll break the door.”

 _No way,_ Junmyeon screams in his head. _I just woke up and you tell me to go out and see you like this? Over my dead body!_

The knocking is not going away. At this point the whole floor is going to wake up from the noise. _Go. Away. Please._

“Hey, Yifan,” comes Tiffany’s voice again, and finally the banging stops. “What are you doing?”

“Just wanted to say ‘Hi’ to a dear _dongsaeng_ ,” he says nonchalantly. “Ah, the notes. Thanks.”

“Any time,” she says in a sweet voice. “Bye, Yifan. Don’t forget to treat me to breakfast next time. You promised, right?”

“Right,” Yifan says, the tone of his voice making it clear that he’s smiling. “Bye, Tiff.” Junmyeon sighs as he listens. Her voice is so girly and seems like exactly the type of girl Yifan would like. He’s so nice to her.

There’s the sound of the door closing again, this time with the lock turning. Junmyeon cups his ear against the door, trying to listen to the footsteps. He hopes that the footsteps are fading. Instead, though, they’re getting louder and they stop in front of his door (Junmyeon can even see the shadow from the bottom of his door).

“If you show your face in front of me next time, you’ll know what I’ll do to you.”

Yifan’s low tone sends a shiver down Junmyeon’s spine. It sounds so cold, but for some reason he feels happy at the mention of ‘next time.’ His brain must have gone haywire from the oversupply of oxygen due to his heart pumping so fast just now.

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

Junmyeon is sure he’s just had an arrhythmia.

“Junjun!” comes a voice that is definitely not Yifan’s.

“Chanyeol?” Junmyeon stutters, finally opening his door. “What are you doing here?” His best friend is not only wide awake, he also looks pretty well dressed and Junmyeon is somewhat baffled.

“The profile photoshoot for the Stars and Moons is in half an hour; why are you still in your pajamas? And why didn't you pick up your phone?” Chanyeol scolds, looking Junmyeon up and down.

“What? When did you—” Junmyeon walks to his bed and searches for his phone only to find it under the blanket. _Eleven missed calls? Seven from Kibum-sunbae?_ “Shit!”

“No shit,” Chanyeol says, pushing Junmyeon towards the bathroom.

Junmyeon doesn’t move. He’s confused.

“Wait, how do you know about the photoshoot? You’re not a—” he asks, waiting for some answer to dawn on him. Chanyeol starts to grin and Junmyeon’s jaw drops a bit. “You’re Engineering Moon?”

Chanyeol’s grin grows as he nods, rocking back and forth on his feet. “I’m your eternal wingman, remember? I have to be there for you,” he says. “Anyway, hurry up! It already takes fifteen minutes to get to the hall and your short legs will only make us slower! Get dressed and let’s go!”

Junmyeon smiles, happy that his best friend will be going through this with him. He scrambles around to find clothes he can wear for a photoshoot, and any thought of his near-miss with Yifan this morning is out of his mind.

For now.

  
  


~*~

  
  


“And noona, you know what’s funny though?” Chanyeol tries to talk through his giggle. He is currently telling their story back in high school about a girl in their elective _Hanja_ characters class. The Stars and Moons’ main makeup artist, Jaekyung- _noona_ , who is working on Junmyeon’s face, only smiles at the talkative oversized _hoobae_. “That girl that called him ‘Junjun’ actually had a crush on him. It was so obvious! But he never noticed because he was busy ogling someone else.”

“Really?” asks Jaekyung. Junmyeon gives a weak smile.

“Chanyeol- _ah_ ,” Junmyeon grits his teeth. “How about you stop talking?”

“Ey, you’re no fun. It’s all in the past!” Chanyeol teases him.

“Obviously you are more fun than me, that’s how you managed to score your tenth girlfriend, who happened to be _her_ best friend.” (Jaekyung gasps, “Such a player!” Junmyeon adds, “I know, right?”)

Chanyeol generally knows when to shut up, and after Junmyeon’s obvious dig, he knows now is the time.

Jaekyung taps a bit of moisturizer onto Junmyeon’s face. “I rarely say this but Junjun—” (Great. Now he’s stuck with this nickname _again_.) “—your skin is amazing,” she says, practically cooing at him. “So smooth and even...I’m jealous and I already use eleven products twice every day.”

“Thank you,” Junmyeon replies awkwardly. He’s not used to people complimenting his skin—in high school he had near-constant pimples and dry patches on his cheeks. It took a lot of healthy eating, skin cleansing, and self loving to get it this way.

“Now for your li—oh. The lip kit isn’t here. I’ll be right back.” Jaekyung walks away to find the missing piece of her makeup set.

“Junjun,” whispers Chanyeol. He nudges Junmyeon. “Where’s Yifan?” Chanyeol’s looking around like a hunting dog trying to locate prey and Junmyeon pouts.

“How the hell should I know,” comes Junmyeon’s curt reply. Chanyeol laughs.

“Aren’t the senior Moons from the other faculties supposed to come mentor us through the photoshoot? I thought Campus Moon would surely be the first one here, but I don’t see him.” Chanyeol continues to swivel his head every which way.

“He’s a medical student. Why would he waste his time here when he could be studying?” Junmyeon says, thinking back to Yifan asking Tiffany for the neuro notes. Chanyeol replies with a monotone hum, then turns to a melodic hum. And then the humming comes to sudden halt.

“Wow,” Chanyeol exclaims all of a sudden. Junmyeon looks to his side where Chanyeol is sitting and follows his best friend’s line of sight.

As if fate wants to prove it loves teasing Junmyeon, there’s Yifan.

Yifan goes straight to the sofa on the other side of the studio and settles himself down before he takes out his phone. It seems like he really doesn’t want to be there.

They both spend a few more seconds to observe the Campus Moon when Chanyeol finally says, “He’s handsomer than I remember him being, and that’s saying something.”

“Exactly…” Junmyeon mutters under his breath before stopping himself from ogling his crush further. Chanyeol notices how Junmyeon starts to fiddle with the bottle of banana milk on the vanity table to distract himself.

“It’s only been a year…how can anyone improve their looks from high-class to god-level in only a year?” Chanyeol continues, but now Junmyeon knows Chanyeol is teasing him because Chanyeol’s nose is wrinkling up like it does when he’s being mischievous. Junmyeon frowns, turning back to where Yifan was standing. Except now Yifan is coming right towards him, and Junmyeon blanches.

“Young master, so nice to see you here,” he says, and Junmyeon’s heart sinks as he hears that taunting tone in Yifan’s voice. “Why didn’t you open your door this morning? I wanted to have a chat.”

Junmyeon looks down at his feet, willing himself to think up some witty remark or good excuse but he can’t think of anything that would give him the upper hand.

Chanyeol looks at Junmyeon in surprise. Junmyeon fully expects Chanyeol to demand all the details after this exchange is over, but he has bigger things on his mind right now, namely—

“I assume you remember what I told you this morning.”

Chanyeol gives a raised eyebrow at Junmyeon. Definitely going to have to fill Chanyeol in. He’s so not looking forward to explaining how mean his crush is being to him.

“What’s your major?” Yifan asks. Junmyeon thinks of all the ways Yifan can make his life harder once Yifan knows his major. _Surely he won’t do all those things to me, right? I mean he’s mean but not that mean._

Chanyeol elbows him again, and he finally looks up at Yifan. “Biology!” he says a bit louder than he expected to. Yifan looks amused.

“Name?”

Junmyeon gives a not-so-subtle look to his side, sending a distress signal towards his best friend. Chanyeol doesn’t do anything; instead, he clearly averts his eyes to look everywhere but at Junmyeon.

“Junjun,” comes Jaekyung with a pink pouch in her hand. Junmyeon takes a sharp breath at her impeccable timing. “I have my lip kit with me now. Oh, hi Yifan- _sunbae_. Doing your Campus Moon duty, I see.”

“Of course,” answers Yifan. “I have to take care of our… _Junjun_ ,” Yifan stifles a chuckle ( _I’m never gonna get away from this name, am I?_ Junmyeon concludes in his head), “and…” Yifan looks straight at Chanyeol.

“I’m Chanyeol, Engineering Moon.” Chanyeol is about to stand up to shake Yifan’s hand, but Junmyeon’s hand moves faster than his brain, and he holds Chanyeol down by grabbing his best friend’s arm.

“Ooh, possessive,” Chanyeol whispers. Junmyeon hisses at Chanyeol again.

“Well, thanks for checking in, _sunbae_! Now, Junjun, let’s put some lip balm on you.” Jaekyung takes her previous seat in front of Junmyeon with a tube of lip balm in her hand and uncaps it. With Yifan standing nearby, staring down at him, Junmyeon feels more self-conscious than necessary.

“It’s okay _noona_ , I can put it on myself.” Junmyeon’s takes the tube from Jaekyung’s hand. He turns away from Yifan, focusing to put on the lip balm by looking at his reflection in the vanity mirror near him while Jaekyung moves on to Chanyeol.

Junmyeon’s throat feels parched for some reason definitely totally unrelated to the fact that Yifan is still standing within arm’s reach. There’s a bit more banana milk that he put on the table prior to his makeup session, so he grabs it and sips until there’s none left. Realizing that the lip balm has already transferred onto the straw ( _What kind of cheap lip balm is this?_ he complains silently), Junmyeon reapplies it.

“You’ll never win.” Yifan throws an offhand remark at Junmyeon.

Junmyeon turns to face Yifan, suddenly feeling a bit brave. “And how would _you_ know, _sunbaenim_?”

Yifan scans him up and down. “Short legs, unmanly face—” Yifan glances at the drink on the table, “—childish drink. You are far from being a Campus Moon.”

Junmyeon laughs in disbelief. Seems like nothing about him is appealing in Yifan’s eyes. “You can’t know for sure. Maybe I will get to be the Campus Moon this year.”

Yifan smirks at him. “No way. Because I’m a jury for this year.”

“Wow,” Junmyeon exclaims, “already biased? Now that’s not a very competent jury, right _sunbaenim_? Think about what people would say about a biased Campus Moon.”

The smirk on Yifan’s face remains. “We’ll see about that, Shortie.”

  
  


~*~

  
  


Junmyeon stuffs his face with rice as angrily as he can. Chanyeol’s been watching him silently and furiously eat for the past five minutes.

“How did I ever fall for that jerk back then?” he mutters, finally looking up at Chanyeol to complain. “He’s so rude.”

“Because just like every girl in our high school, you fell for that handsome face,” Chanyeol replies bluntly, and Junmyeon wants to throw his chopsticks at his best friend.

“You think I was that shallow? Of course it wasn’t just because of his face,” retorts Junmyeon.

“Why’d you fall for him then?” Chanyeol asks nonchalantly as he scoops up a spoonful of _kimchi-jjigae_ into his mouth. Junmyeon opens his mouth to retaliate, only to remember that Yifan’s physical appearance was the real reason Junmyeon fell for Yifan in the first place. Ever since he saw Yifan passing by with his friends at the school entrance ceremony in middle school, Junmyeon’s eyes had been fixed onto Yifan ever since.

“Doesn’t matter now, does it?” Junmyeon ends the argument with a childish comeback before shoving another spoonful of rice into his mouth, ignoring the way Chanyeol chuckles at him.

“But I think he really doesn’t remember us. He asked for our names just now!” exclaims Chanyeol. “I mean, I’d understand if people from our school couldn’t recognize you, but me? I’m special! I am not easy to forget!”

Junmyeon looks at his best friend in disbelief. “You and your narcissistic ass.”

“It’s not narcissistic, it’s self-love.” Chanyeol remarks, before putting a piece of _kimchi_ in his mouth and puts on his ‘charming’ face. Junmyeon makes a disgusted face in response.

Deciding that he’s eaten plenty, Junmyeon puts down the spoon looks around the cafeteria, only to see that other students keep glancing at them. Some girls pass them and smile, so Chanyeol returns the gesture. Only then does Junmyeon realize that they are both in full makeup and smart hair-dos for the shooting. Junmyeon suddenly feels like a deer in the headlights.

“Y-Yeol- _ah_ ,” Junmyeon stutters, “I need to get something to drink.”

“Oh? You want me to buy it for you?” Chanyeol asks him. Somewhere in the corner of his vision he can see some girls staring towards their table.

“It’s okay, I’ll get it myself.”

“Oh. Then buy me something too.” Chanyeol smiles at him as he rises from his chair. The girls are practically squealing now. _Okay, girls, now you can have all of him to yourself._

Once Junmyeon arrives at the fridge, the first thing he searches for is banana milk. Yes, he had that just a few hours ago but he’s thirsty again and banana milk will do the trick. Banana milk always does the trick.

“Bababa, babanana,” sings Junmyeon as his eyes scan the rows in the fridge, looking for a yellow bottle with a green cover. As Junmyeon finishes scanning the first fridge, he thinks about which drink he should choose for Chanyeol. He thinks of buying the same thing as him, but that giant doesn’t need any more milk, else his bones continue to grow. Pocari Sweat then, he decides.

Pocari Sweat is an easy find but somehow he can’t seem to locate his prized drink even by the third fridge he searches. “Banana milk, where are you?” he sings to himself.

Junmyeon doesn’t realize the presence of another person; only the sound of another fridge being opened manages to stop Junmyeon in the middle of his epic banana milk search.

When Junmyeon turns to look to his side, he feels like the heavenly beings really are set on playing with him. The person next to him turns out to be none other than Yifan.

Junmyeon pretends not to see his crush; he’s afraid of starting another fight with Yifan. Ever since he stepped foot inside this university, not once has an interaction with Yifan ended on a good note. Instead, he tries to continue his search. “No banana milk I guess,” he mumbles to himself. He’s about to settle on a vitamin drink when he looks over at Yifan.

That jerk is holding a damn banana milk! It was a childish drink when Junmyeon was drinking it earlier but now that Yifan wants it it’s mature? What a hypocrite. (And where did he find it, anyway?)

“As if he doesn't drink it,” Junmyeon mumbles. He frowns, and then sulkily turns to continue searching the fridge when Yifan takes the banana milk and a can of milk tea to the counter.

“These too,” Yifan tells the uncle at the counter.

Meanwhile, Junmyeon moves to the fridge where Yifan found the banana milk, only to see rows of pink bottles instead of yellow. He doesn't want strawberry milk! _This is too much,_ Junmyeon complains in his head.

“Hey,” comes a low voice. Junmyeon turns around to see the banana milk thief standing right in front of him with the prized item in Yifan’s large hand.

“Catch,” Yifan says, and Junmyeon barely has time to react before Yifan throws something at him. Junmyeon’s hands go up reflexively and he catches… the bottle of banana milk. He looks up at Yifan, eyes wide in confusion. “That one’s yours,” Yifan continues. “This is mine.” He waves the can of milk tea at Junmyeon and smirks as he walks off.

Suddenly every bad encounter he’s had with Yifan is erased from Junmyeon’s mind.

Junmyeon doesn’t know what to say, and he’s left standing there, totally speechless.

  
  


~*~

  
  


Junmyeon heads back to the hall after realizing Chanyeol and the others have gone—he’s not sure how long he stood there, completely starstruck. Junmyeon heads back to where he had left Chanyeol only to stop midway and find Chanyeol standing outside, waiting for him,

“Why are you out here?” asks Junmyeon as they both fall into step and head towards the hall where the shooting is held.  
  


“Some girls tried to talk to me,” Chanyeol says. “As soon as you left, they came to our table.”

Junmyeon scoffs. “I thought you liked attention.”

“I do,” Chanyeol agrees, “but not when we have some more shooting to do.” Junmyeon hums in agreement. Who knew that getting involved with this ‘beauty pageant’ would be so time consuming? Kibum- _sunbae_ already briefed them about their schedule for the whole week and it is jam packed with performance practice and some more shooting sessions.

  
“Oooh banana milk!” Chanyeol’s long arm stretches out to reach the banana milk in Junmyeon’s hand, but Junmyeon quickly repositions his hand so Chanyeol gets the Pocari Sweat instead of the banana milk.

“Yours is this one,” says Junmyeon. Chanyeol frowns for a brief second, then nods before taking the bottle.

“Straw?” Chanyeol asks. Junmyeon gives an apologetic face, clearly having forgotten about the straw. “Nah I’m just kidding,” Chanyeol unscrews the cap and stops his walking to take a gulp of his drink. Somewhere behind him, Junmyeon picks up some subtly audible gasps coming from some girls passing by.

“Are you shooting a drink CF right now?” Junmyeon deadpans.

Chanyeol winks at him (the girls are squealing rather loud) and then says, “Fanservice.” Junmyeon clicks his tongue and then starts walking, Chanyeol trailing him from behind. Chanyeol’s long legs catch up with Junmyeon in just a few steps.

“Though, why did you get yourself banana milk again? You drank one this morning already,” Chanyeol points out as they reach the staircase that leads up to the back door of the hall.

Junmyeon replies, “I can never get tired of banana milk. And…I didn’t buy it. Someone gave it to me.”

“Oh! Kim Junmyeon...Got an admirer already?” Chanyeol coos. Junmyeon tries to shrug off the teasing but a smile unconsciously presents itself on Junmyeon’s face. “Oh? Look at that smile. Who was it?” Chanyeol teases more.

“Just a _sunbae_ that I know. It’s not a big deal.” Junmyeon responds as vaguely as possible.

“ _Sunbae_? Which _sunbae_? Was it someone that I know?” Chanyeol blocks Junmyeon from getting into the makeup room. Junmyeon makes a face that says “I’m not telling” at his best friend before pushing Chanyeol’s arm away from the door frame.

Junmyeon notices that some of the Moons and Stars are not here; they either haven’t come back or they have moved to the studio in the next room. Junmyeon jumps when Chanyeol snakes his arm around Junmyeon’s shoulders.

“You better tell me who gave it to you or I’ll tickle you,” Chanyeol warns him in a joking manner. Junmyeon tries to wriggle out of Chanyeol’s grasp when one of the female staff members comes to them.

“Don’t play too hard, kids. Can’t get your pretty faces scratched up.”

Chanyeol rubs Junmyeon’s head playfully before releasing his grip. Junmyeon whines about how his styled hair is going to get ruined. “No problem with that,” Chanyeol comments, “ _noona_ can fix it up with her mighty skill.”

“Sweet talker,” says the _noona_. Junmyeon wonders how Chanyeol managed to be that smooth. “You two came back at the right time! We got a special sponsor for refreshments today. Yifan- _sunbae_ bought drinks for everyone just now.”

Hearing that, Junmyeon looks around. Sure enough, each and every person in the room has some type of bottled beverage in their hands. On one table in a corner of the room, there are plenty more bottles of all sorts of drinks.

“He really takes good care of us. As expected from the Campus Moon,” she says before she goes away to join another group of Stars.  
  
Junmyeon replays the last sentence that the _noona_ said in his head more than once. Junmyeon recalls when Yifan was paying at the drink section counter. No wonder the amount sounded like too much for just two drinks; Junmyeon thought he just misheard it. Now it all makes sense. What was Junmyeon thinking? Of course he isn’t special.  
  
“Hey, are you okay?” Chanyeol has his hand on Junmyeon again, this time out of concern. Junmyeon realizes that he must have let his feelings show on his face.

Junmyeon needs to get out of here fast. “Um, I think I-I need to use the bathroom. Here,” Junmyeon offers the unopened banana milk to his best friend. “You can have it.” Junmyeon doesn’t look back when he goes out out of the room and up the stairs, not caring where they will lead him.  
  


~*~

 

The stairs bring him to upper level with a layout just like the lower level but with significantly fewer students than where Junmyeon came from. Junmyeon walks across the corridor, not realizing he was frowning and clenching his fists at the same time. By the time he reaches bathroom at the end of the corridor, no students are in sight. Junmyeon doesn’t think twice when he pushes down the door handle and enters the seemingly deserted bathroom.

The enamel sink feels cold under his palms. Junmyeon leans towards the mirror, putting the weight of his upper body onto his arms. He looks at his face closely, observing how much he has changed in a year. Physically, he has changed so much and is now in the best condition he has ever been, but somehow he is still the same inside. How come his fragile heart hasn’t grown callous from all the pain it once felt? How come Junmyeon never learns?

“You can’t,” Junmyeon speaks to his reflection in the mirror. “Don’t do this to yourself. Once is enough.” He nods, taking in his words and lets his brain process them. A year before, he chose to run to the bathroom too, and then cried his eyes out as he let the sound of the running tap water drown his sobs. But he won’t do the same thing now. He is not going to give in.

Junmyeon hears some shuffling outside the door. Thinking that someone will walk on his pep talk, Junmyeon gets into a stall and locks it from inside. He picks up the sound of the door swinging open then shutting close. He gently put the cover of the toilet down and sits on the cover, remembering to put his phone on silent mode before sending a text to Chanyeol about his current location and a promise to be in the studio in a few minutes.

There is a faint click. Junmyeon wonders what is the person outside his stall is doing because he hears no sorts of activities involving water. But a whiff of smoke later gives him the answer. The person outside is smoking and Junmyeon hates that smell the most.

Being trapped in the stall, there is only so much Junmyeon can do to try not to breathe in the polluted air. Junmyeon makes a mistake of inhaling once and his lungs automatically tries to expel the pollution out, making Junmyeon to cough uncontrollably. By the time Junmyeon stops coughing, he notices a shadow of a pair of feet under the slit of the stall’s door.

He has been caught.

_Knock knock knock_

“Whoever is in there, come out now.”

The voice sounds higher pitched than Junmyeon expected from someone who smokes; however there is still a clear hostility in the tone. Junmyeon curses himself for being at the wrong place at a wrong time. He had Yifan knocking on his door this morning for peeping; now he has a potential bully telling him to step out from the stall.

 _If something happens to me, come find me here._ Junmyeon sends the message to Chanyeol, hoping that he will not beaten up by a fierce looking bully before he unlocks the door. Once he gets out however, his expectation flies out the window.

Standing before him is a tall student, not much older than Junmyeon (he assumes), looking less fierce than expected. In fact, he looks more like a heart-throb rather than a bully.

Junmyeon can’t help but stare.

“Are you a freshman?” asks the handsome guy, still appearing somewhat hostile. Junmyeon nods as an answer. The guy continues, “Don’t you know this place is off limits for freshmen?” Obviously Junmyeon has never heard about that rule even existing, so he shakes his head vehemently to prove his innocence. “I’m just kidding.” The handsome guy with furrowed eyebrows and piercing eyes now smiles for the first time and wow, he looks much more approachable like that. Maybe the _sunbaes_ here just like to tease the _hoobaes_.

Junmyeon watches as the _sunbae_ walks to the sink and washes his hands, cigarette nowhere to be seen—though he can still smell a waft of the smoke in the air. Maybe he threw it away already, knowing that there was someone who couldn’t stand cigarette smoke in the same area. Junmyeon ticks the ‘considerate’ box on the checklist in his mind.

“What were you doing in there, though?”

Junmyeon looks up to see the _sunbae_ now looking at him in the reflection of the mirror. “Uh…I…just needed some time to reflect. Away from people.” Junmyeon reasons it’s better to be honest than to make up lies.  
  
The guy deadpans. “Here? In this haunted bathroom?”

Junmyeon’s eyes widen. “Haunted?” Junmyeon gulps hard, scolding himself for still going in here (despite knowing how desolated and creepy this bathroom is) when he catches a glimpse of the guy smirking through the mirror. Junmyeon bites his lips tight to stop his whine from coming out—no matter what the _sunbae_ does, he just has to accept it. For a moment he wonders why he can’t act the same way with Yifan.

“Sorry, you just seem fun to tease.” Junmyeon tries not to let his guard down but he can’t help but pout when being teased like that. The guy then walks over to the hand towel dispenser and takes a few sheets out to dry his hands. “If you need someone to talk to, I can listen for a while.” Junmyeon looks up to see the smirk gone; only a neutral, unreadable face looking back at him. Junmyeon watches as the guy walks over to the corner, then throws the used hand towel into the bin.

Junmyeon shakes his head softly. “It’s okay, _sunbaenim_. It’s not that big of deal. I…I think I can handle it.”

The guy nods slightly, a faint smile ghosting at the corner of his lips for a moment before he says, “Sorry for—you know, just now. I didn’t know you were in there.”

Junmyeon is genuinely surprised by the thoughtfulness the guy is showing him. The guy seems intimidating at first—cold voice, stern face (like Yifan, in a sense)—but now Junmyeon feels some presence of warmth in his voice. It is nice to hear, but at the same time a small part of him wishes that it was Yifan whose voice sounded so tender when speaking to Junmyeon.

Junmyeon tries to shake off the thought. “It’s okay,” he replies. “You didn’t see me just now so that’s—that’s fine.” Junmyeon gives a curt smile, hoping to end the interaction. It feels awkward now, being in a bathroom and talking a stranger. Worse still that the stranger reminds him of crush. “I guess I’ll be going now,” Junmyeon announces. Chanyeol must be waiting for him by now.

“Wait,” the guy says. “I don’t even know your name. I’m Taekwoon, second year in engineering.” The guy extends his hand for a handshake. Junmyeon takes his hand, supporting his right wrist with his left hand as a sign of respect.

“I’m a freshman in the science major,” Junmyeon tells him.

Junmyeon looks up at Taekwoon when he realizes the upperclassman still hasn’t let go of his hand. “Your name?” Taekwoon asks. Junmyeon’s lips are forming the first syllable of his name when suddenly he hears the creak of the door handle.

And there stands the last person Junmyeon wants to see.

Yifan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 coming soon!


	2. 2회

Junmyeon registers the way Yifan looks at Junmyeon in surprise: his eyes travel to Junmyeon’s hand being held by Taekwoon. Junmyeon retracts his hand fast and Taekwoon seems surprised. Great, now it’s getting more awkward. Junmyeon just wants to dash out of as fast as he can. He loses his timing to excuse himself and slip away when Yifan gives a nod of acknowledgement towards Taekwoon and starts, “I knew you’d be here. Hakyeon is looking for you but he can’t reach you.” Taekwoon makes a grunting noise at the mention of ‘Hakyeon’. Yifan then turns to Junmyeon and asks, “What are _you_ doing here?”

Junmyeon looks away, choosing not to reply. For a brief while, Junmyeon can feel the gazes of both upperclassmen on him.

“Oh, this _hoobae_ came here for a stress relief break. Maybe he has a lot on his mind.” Taekwoon explains on Junmyeon’s behalf. Junmyeon peeks at Yifan to see his reaction—it is inexpressive, unreadable. Like Yifan himself.

“You’re coming for a drink tonight, right? I need to confirm it with Minseok and Yixing.” Yifan asks the other upperclassman.

Junmyeon thinks of the names Yifan mentioned—Minseok and Yixing, somewhat familiar names—when he hears Taekwoon answer, “Yeah, I’m going.”

Junmyeon hopes that the two upperclassmen just carry on with their conservation—it doesn’t involve him anyway—but of course, it’s not that easy. “And you, Junjun,” Yifan says, his face still expressionless, “I get that you have a problem, but being here for too long with a _sunbae_ won’t look good. People are going to misunderstand. That tall boyfriend of yours is going to think same way too.”

Junmyeon gives him a look of disbelief. For other people, it may sounds like normal advice from a _sunbae_ to a _hoobae_ but Yifan’s words had rubbed Junmyeon the wrong way. Junmyeon wishes for warmth; even just a bit; but all Yifan gives is ice cold words. “I appreciate the thought, sunbaenim—” Junmyeon chooses to be formal and level-headed; he doesn’t want to come off as rude in front of Taekwoon, “—but I don’t think anyone is going to ‘misunderstand’. And one more thing, Chanyeol is not my boyfriend.”

“That Engineering freshman? Park Chanyeol?” Taekwoon asks, and Junmyeon nods meekly while still looking at Yifan. Yifan ignores Taekwoon’s interruption.

“You think they wouldn’t, but word travels fast here. You’re a Moon; you have to take care of your image.” Yifan tosses around his ‘helpful insight’ freely, not knowing how much it hurts Junmyeon to hear it.

“He’s a Moon?” asks Taekwoon. Junmyeon feels somewhat offended by that comment.

“Surprised? Me too.” Yifan deadpans.

“Why are you so bothered by me running as a Moon?” Junmyeon pipes up. “You think I do this because I want to? I don’t even know why I got picked; there are definitely others in my major who fit the bill more than me.”

“Then quit,” says Yifan, as cold as ever. Junmyeon stares at Yifan dumbfoundedly. “If you can’t handle it, just quit.” Junmyeon feels his heart bleeding, torn apart by those sharp words.

“Hey, aren’t you being too mean?” Taekwoon says to Yifan. ‘Mean,’ Junmyeon thinks, is a perfect word to describe Wu Yifan. And being hurt by his words is not going to change anything—Yifan will stay the way he is—so it’s up to Junmyeon to pick himself up and not break right now.

Junmyeon feels his phone vibrating in the pocket of his pants. He takes it out to see a notification from Chanyeol: _I’m coming to get you. Wait for me_. Junmyeon figures that it is time for him to leave. “Maybe you’re right. Thank you for your advice, _sunbaenim_.” Junmyeon says, voice flat, resolute. He just wants to end this whole conversation, finish with the shooting, and go back to his room. But before that, there’s something he has to settle.

“Before I forget,” Junmyeon takes two thousand won out of his pocket and shoves the money towards Yifan. “Here,” he says, resolutely holding out his hand. “The money for the banana milk. I don’t like being owing people anything.”

“I gave it to you for free,” Yifan says. “You don’t have to pay for it, I bought drinks for everyone.” Taekwoon looks between them, and Junmyeon agrees that this is uncomfortable. But he’s not about to back down.

“Exactly. I don’t want to be like everyone else,” Junmyeon protests. “Just take the money.”

Yifan releases a sigh. “Okay,” Yifan replies, “How about this? Since I’m not going to take the money, and you don’t want to be like anyone else, why don’t you use that money to buy something special for yourself? Consider me giving that money back to you.”

Junmyeon still wants to protest, but suddenly Chanyeol enters the restroom. Chanyeol seems surprised to see two other upperclassmen, but he quickly bows to both of the sunbaes and tells them that Junmyeon is needed at the studio. Taekwoon gives a nod to acknowledge Chanyeol’s presence while Yifan stays passive.

“Let’s go, Kibum hyung is getting impatient,” Chanyeol says as he grabs Junmyeon by the arm, bowing to excuse the two of them. Junmyeon allows himself to be dragged away by his best friend.

  


~*~

  


“He’s here!” shouts one of the staff members. Junmyeon jumps in surprise from the excitement. “Oh, I’m sorry, Junjun,” she says. “Are you okay? Feeling better? Chanyeol said you had a stomachache just now and asked to push back your session.”

Junmyeon looks at his best friend; Chanyeol just gives him a reassuring smile. Junmyeon conveys his thankfulness through his eyes.

“I’m okay now, _noona_ , thank you so much.”

Junmyeon watches the way the _noona_ rushes to the other room. Chanyeol drapes his arm over Junmyeon’s shoulder. “Promise me you’ll tell me what happened in the bathroom just now...I’m intrigued.” Junmyeon looks up at Chanyeol and nods. “ _Everything_ , okay?” Chanyeol emphasizes; Junmyeon has a feeling that it is not only about what happened just now. Again he nods at his best friend’s request.

Chanyeol releases his hold when Jaekyung comes over with her makeup bags. “Junjun, here, let me fix your makeup.”

Junmyeon sits on a stool nearby, waiting for his turn to be called, when he notices Taekwoon walking into the room. Chanyeol immediately goes to his _sunbae_ , leaving Junmyeon alone, when Junmyeon hears a call, “Next, Science Faculty!”

“Junmyeon- _ssi_ ,” Nayeon from the Chemistry department walks over to him. Nayeon is the Star of the Science Faculty, which makes her his partner for this photoshoot and throughout this competition. “It’s our turn now.” Junmyeon follows Nayeon, walking towards the canvas and positioning himself for the photoshoot. He has a hard time opening his eyes wide enough because the lighting is too bright, but he tries his best to smile at the camera.

(He doesn’t notice that a certain someone is standing on the other side of the room, monitoring him.)

Once he has finished his photo session, he goes to the staff members and apologizes for the problem he had caused. “It’s okay,” one of them says, “this year, somehow the scale of the event became so much bigger than last year. We’re stressed too. Junjun, if you have any problems, just tell us, okay? We are here to help.”

Their reassurance only serves to make Junmyeon feel more guilty at the nice treatment he’s received, especially since the problem he was suffering from was certainly not a stomachache.

“Hey,” Chanyeol comes to get him. “I’m in the mood for some _twigim_. Let’s get some after this.”

“Of course,” Junmyeon says, “The least I can do is buy my best friend something after he covered my ass just now.”

Chanyeol replies with glee in his voice, “Of course I would cover your ass! That’s what best friends do.”

Junmyeon feels the weight of that title. Chanyeol _is_ his best friend, yet he is keeping secrets from Chanyeol. Chanyeol was there for him through hard times, yet his ego is keeping him from admitting that his feeling for Yifan still remains, whether he likes it or not.

“I’ll tell you everything,” Junmyeon makes a promise—there will be time where he comes clean about his feeling, but now his ego is still holding him back.

Chanyeol looks at him with anticipation and then says, “I changed my mind. Since you’re buying, I want some grilled beef. Korean native beef, not imported.”

Junmyeon punches Chanyeol’s shoulder playfully. “Yah, you think I’m that rich? My dad has the money, okay, not me!” Chanyeol pretends like he is in immense pain before he laughs. As Junmyeon joins the laughter, he catches a glance of Yifan staring at him and Chanyeol. He’s frowning, but Junmyeon gets the distinct but totally absurd feeling that Yifan is frowning at Chanyeol and not him.

  


~*~

  


(“Hey, so that Moon _hoobae_ ,” Taekwoon says casually to Yifan as they walk through the corridor, heading towards the studio. “Do you know him?”

“Met him a couple of times,” Yifan replies.

“His name is Junjun?”

“That’s what they call him,” Yifan keeps his answer short. Taekwoon doesn’t usually talk much but all of a sudden he is so curious, and Yifan, somehow, is annoyed.

Taekwoon nods. “I see. He seemed kind of distressed today. I wonder what was wrong...maybe I could help him out. Do you know what was bothering him? Something to do with the Moon and Stars competition?”

They reach the stairs and Yifan is more than happy to speed down the stairs and leave his friend behind. “Why don’t you ask that _hoobae_ from your major? Surely he knows more than me.”

“Right,” Taekwoon agrees. “I should do that.”

Minutes later, when Yifan catches the sight of Chanyeol talking animatedly with Taekwoon, it leaves Yifan feeling bothered for some reason he can’t quite put his finger on.)

  


~*~

  


That evening, as he is showering, Junmyeon thinks about what had happened earlier in the day. He can’t figure out why exactly he had to be stuck with Taekwoon and Yifan in the bathroom. Everytime he thinks about it he feels more and more awkward.

He figures it must have just been a fluke, a rash of bad luck. Although he has to see Yifan often from now on, there’s no reason awkward encounters in a restroom have to happen often. Or ever again.

Junmyeon gets out of the bathroom, having spent more time than necessary to finish showering. He lazily dries his hair with the hair drier when he hears his phone blare. He grabs it and sees that Chanyeol is calling. Junmyeon swipes the bar to the right. “What’s up?”

“Hey—,” Chanyeol replies, “—before anything else, I have to say sorry. I forgot that the kids in my class want to hang out tonight.”

Junmyeon sighs. “So we aren’t going to get dinner tonight? Even though I’m paying?”

“I promised them first, and I totally forgot. I’m sorry. We can go out another time. Unless you want to come with us,” comes the answer.

“Well, where are you guys going?” Junmyeon asks.

Chanyeol answers in a heartbeat, “KFC! No, I’m just kidding. It’s a bar, but I’ll make sure to get us a spot in the non-smoking area if you’re coming.”

Junmyeon makes a sound from the back of his throat, thinking of the offer. “Okay, I’ll go.”

“Great! We’ll come to pick you up in half an hour.”

  


~*~

  


With five minutes to spare, Junmyeon decides to wait for Chanyeol and friends in the lounge downstairs. The thing about Junmyeon is that he has never been good at tying sturdy knots, and this lack in skill causes him to trip on his loose shoelace and bump into someone on his way down the stairs.

“Sorry,” he bows rapidly, hoping that if the one who just got so unceremoniously bumped is a _sunbae_ , they would forgive him.

“Wait,” Junmyeon hears a sturdy voice coming from the other guy. Junmyeon turns around timidly, trying not to look directly at the person he just hit.

“You look familiar…Did you go to Cheon-guk High School?” the guy asks.

“Yes!” answers Junmyeon, this time having courage to look straight at the guy he bumped into. He, too, looks familiar to Junmyeon. Junmyeon tries to fit the face to the ones he has seen before. His eyes go wide when he makes the connection.

“Minseok- _sunbae_!”

Minseok beams at his _hoobae_. “You’re Junmyeon right? You changed a lot; I can barely recognize you.”

“I’m surprised you even knew who I was back in high school,” Junmyeon states. Minseok is one of Yifan’s best friends who has been with Yifan since middle school, and Junmyeon only spoke to him once or twice at most.

“Of course I knew you; you were well-known back in high school too,” replies Minseok. Junmyeon assumes that it was because of his rich father, who owns one of the biggest car dealerships in their hometown.

“Do you live in this dorm? I’ve never seen you here before.”

Minseok shakes his head. “No, I’m here to meet Yifan. You remember him right? He’s staying in this dorm too.”

“Of course I remember him,” Junmyeon replies a little too quickly.

“If you have any problems, you can just ask for his help. I’m sure he’ll be glad to help a high school classmate.”

Junmyeon scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. “ _Sunbae_ , about that, can you not tell him about me being from the same high school?”

Minseok gives a puzzled look. “Why not?”

“Uh…See, when I first got into this uni, we kind of started off on the wrong foot. So right now he’s been giving me a bit,” Junmyeon emphasizes by showing a space between his index finger and his thumb, “of a hard time. I’m worried that if he knows that I’m from the same high school as him, he’ll make it much harder for me.”

The puzzled look on Minseok’s face is still not going away. “Yifan is giving you a hard time? You mean he doesn’t remember you?”

“I don’t think so,” replies Junmyeon. “He doesn’t recognize Chanyeol either; you know, the tall guy who’s always with me.”

Minseok seems like he can’t recall Chanyeol too, but it is still a wonder that Minseok managed to recognize him at once when Yifan hasn’t yet.

“Well, I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding, but I’ll make sure not to mention it to him. Are you on the way to go out?” asks Minseok.

“Yeah, I’m going to the bar just outside the uni, the one in front of the cyber cafe.”

“That bar? We go there a lot too. Maybe we’ll go there for second round tonight.” Junmyeon hopes they don’t; he’d rather not see each other anymore for the rest of the night.

After exchanging phone numbers with Minseok- _hyung_ (Minseok told him to drop the _sunbae_ title), Junmyeon sees a text from Chanyeol saying they’ve arrived to pick him up. He bows to Minseok and heads off to meet his friend; he could use a drink after the day he’s had.

  


~*~

  


Junmyeon arrives at the bar and Chanyeol raucously introduces Junmyeon to his friends from engineering. Chanyeol’s friends are actually really nice, and he’s fascinated by their conversations. From one guy telling them about his trip to Germany to another talking about the work he’s doing in his engineering lab, Junmyeon can’t help but listen with rapt attention.

Baekhyun, one of the engineering majors, gets them all around of tequila, and that makes the night even more fun. Kyungsoo, another student, finds a Jenga set and challenges them all to keep it up as long as they can (Junmyeon figures this is the engineering student version of a drinking game). They’re so inebriated that the tower falls after a couple of turns every time, but it merely causes more laughter.

Hours later, Junmyeon is sufficiently drunk, and so are the rest of them. He keeps eating the nuts that are on the table, and it takes a lot of effort to keep himself from nodding off.

He doesn’t even think about the fact that he achieved his goal for the night: forgetting about what a stressful afternoon he’d been subjected to.

 

 

~*~

  


 

Wobbling back into his room, Junmyeon collapses on his bed. The world is spinning around him and he feels so warm. Taking off his street clothes seems like so much effort right now, all he wants to do is sleep.

His mind is totally blank, and he’s finally able to drift off comfortably and worry-free.

He doesn’t notice his phone vibrating next to him, the screen reading “Minseok- _hyung_.”

  


~*~

  


“Okay, Moons and Stars! You can all take a break,” Kibum smiles at them. “Good work so far, let’s meet back here in fifteen minutes!”

Chanyeol sidles up to Junmyeon, looking at him closely. “You aren’t hungover?”

“No,” Junmyeon replies, and Chanyeol muses that he thought Junmyeon definitely would be. “Hey,” Junmyeon protests, “you’re not hungover either, why should I be?”

“I’m just surprised your tiny little body that got drunk off three shots is fine twelve hours later,” Chanyeol teases, and Junmyeon threatens to punch him again. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” Chanyeol laughs, holding his hands up defensively. “I’ll go get us some water, okay? Be right back.”

Junmyeon nods, grateful that Chanyeol is such a good friend to him despite all the teasing.

“No wonder I couldn’t find you,” comes a cheerful voice behind him. Junmyeon turns around to see Minseok standing there. Junmyeon greets Minseok with a bow.

“I asked around for ‘Junmyeon,’ but apparently people have been calling you ‘Junjun’.”

Junmyeon gives a shrug. “They like to call me that; I have no power to stop them.”

Minseok nods in understanding. “Oh, I’m here to introduce you to—” Minseok looks to his side, then groans as he spots someone sitting among the Stars at the nearby table. “Wait just a second.”

Junmyeon watches as Minseok drags over a guy who seems reluctant to part ways with the pretty freshmen. Minseok pushes his friend in front of Junmyeon. Seeing him up close, Junmyeon’s brain clicks as he remembers that this is another friend of Yifan’s.

“Oh? Yixing- _sunbae_?” Junmyeon questions, and Yixing looks at him somewhat unfamiliarly. Minseok elbows him and mumbles something to Yixing, and then realization dawns on Yixing’s face.

“Ehh, are you Kim Junmyeon?” Yixing cries. “Wow, you changed so much! I didn’t even recognize you. You used to be so skinny and you wore glasses. Oh! And you don’t have braces anymore.”

“Yes, thanks for reminding me,” Junmyeon replies, and Yixing merely grins. “Oh, by the way,” Junmyeon turns to Minseok, “ _hyung_ , why did you call me at three in the morning last night?”

Minseok and Yixing look at each other and for a second Junmyeon wonders if something suspicious is going on, but then Minseok looks like a lightbulb has just lit up in his mind. “Ah, I was a bit drunk. I called because I thought maybe you were still awake and I was going to ask you to come out with us,” he explains, and Yixing nods.

The duo treats Junmyeon to a fair amount of teasing upon the discovery of ‘Junjun’ and Junmyeon’s new look when Junmyeon notices Yifan approaching. Junmyeon shrinks a bit and he bites his lip, hoping that Minseok and Yixing will not reveal his identity to Yifan.

Yifan just stares at Junmyeon with an unreadable expression on his face. Yixing seems surprised by how stoic Yifan is being, and he mouths something at Minseok, which Minseok answers with a nod.

“I, uh, well, nice to see you again,” he says politely to the three of them. “I’m quite thirsty so I’ll be going first.” He doesn’t know how to be any less awkward, but Chanyeol is taking _way_ too long to get water.

(“Hey, Yifan,” Minseok says, looking at his friend as they watch Junmyeon leave, “did you call someone with my phone last night?”

“I don’t remember,” Yifan replies. His voice, however, tells a different story.)

  


~*~

  


“Isn’t this dance too...provocative?” Nayeon whispers to Junmyeon as they watch the dance instructor demonstrate the dance they’ll have to be doing in front of the entire school in just about three weeks. It’s littered with body rolls, swiveling hips, gratuitous butt shaking and moves that look like grinding; everything seems inappropriate to be shown on the stage of a prestigious higher learning institution. Junmyeon is just as concerned about it as Nayeon, and he nods.

“Okay, let’s try the Moons part first,” the dance instructor announces, and Junmyeon and Nayeon split up into their respective groups. Junmyeon joins Chanyeol and they start to learn the dance step by step.

Junmyeon and Chanyeol are both utterly useless when it comes to dancing. Junmyeon finds the legs and the arms and the body and the facial expression too much to think about. As for Chanyeol, having long stringbean legs isn’t helping him this time around.

But something Junmyeon _is_ good at, surprisingly, is the body rolls. At one point the choreographer uses him as an example, and Junmyeon is completely embarrassed. When he goes back to the group, thoroughly red-faced, Chanyeol nudges him with his elbow.

“I didn’t know you could do _that_ ,” Chanyeol snickers.

“Oh my god, Chanyeol, stop, I’m already embarrassed enough,” Junmyeon mumbles.

The dance instructor then asks the Stars to come up and dance, but it soon becomes evident that the girls feel awkward about the overtly sexy dance. The dance instructor and the choreographer decide to tone down the choreography a bit, and for that, Junmyeon is relieved.

  


~*~

  


Junmyeon hasn’t seen Yifan for a while, and he’s kind of grateful. He hasn’t even really thought about him much, being caught up in orientation activities. He hangs out with Seungwan and Sunyoung a lot, and they participate in group activities that are meant to form a bond between the students in the biology department.

It’s fun. He feels happy lately, and he’s made some good friends. Sunyoung and Seungwan love to mother him, but Junmyeon doesn’t mind. He’s happy to go out to eat _ddeokbokki_ with them or sing karaoke late at night together.

In fact, all the fun distracts him from Yifan, who seems to have dropped off the face of Junmyeon’s earth since their encounter at the Stars and Moons gathering almost a week ago. Junmyeon would like to say that he doesn’t mind, and he doesn’t, when he’s not thinking about it. But sometimes, late at night, Junmyeon remembers watching Yifan play basketball back in high school, escaping the crowd of girls who’d surrounded him and ending up right in front of Junmyeon.

He tries not to think about it.

  


~*~

  


Seungwan had recommended Junmyeon to try a set of Innisfree Color Clay Masks and she said that they would keep his skin looking nice and they were fun to use. She was right, Junmyeon realizes as he applies the white to his cheeks, the pink to his nose, and the green to his forehead. He’s happy to have these masks because after drinking so much and eating so much _ddeokbokki_ recently (practicing for the competition requires so much energy), he’s started to break out a bit on his forehead. He wants to maintain his skin.

He settles himself in his bed with a volume of his favorite _manhwa_ when his phone rings, and he answers it absentmindedly.

“Junmyeon, let’s go out drinking tonight,” Chanyeol cajoles him through the phone.

“I’m gonna get pimples if I drink any more,” Junmyeon replies, careful not to crack the mask. “I want to stay in tonight. I need to maintain my skin for the competition.”

Chanyeol laughs heartily. “All this, coming from the same person who didn’t even want to compete in the first place,” he says.

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

“I have to go, Yeol, someone is at my door.”

“Fine,” Chanyeol complains one last time, and Junmyeon hangs up. Who the fuck is at his door this late at night? It was already late for Chanyeol to ask Junmyeon to go drinking, but to visit unannounced at this hour is kind of absurd. Maybe it’s someone drunk and they’re knocking on the wrong door—it’s happened before.

He opens the door and before he can process anything, Junmyeon finds himself in Yifan’s face. Yixing and Minseok are standing behind their friend and Junmyeon finds himself greeting them all with a curt bow.

“What are you doing with your face?” Yifan asks, looking at the different colors across Junmyeon’s cheeks and forehead.

“It’s a face mask,” Junmyeon frowns. Minseok cuts in.

“The competition is coming up, I’m sure Junjun just wants to keep his skin in good condition for the big day,” Minseok explains, and Yifan just raises his eyebrows.

“I don’t think you need it,” Yifan comments, and for a moment Junmyeon thinks that Yifan is complimenting him when Yifan adds, “You’ll still look the same.”

Junmyeon glares at the Campus Moon when Yixing cuts in, “Still cute, he means.” Junmyeon wants to smile at the effort but his face is too tight.

“Anyway,” Yifan changes the subject abruptly. “I need you to give these notes to Tiffany when she comes back. She says she needs it for tomorrow’s quiz but us three have to go to a study session.”

“And when is she coming back?” Junmyeon asks, furrowing his brow.

“How should I know? Just wait until she returns and pass her these notes. It’s not hard.”

“Fine,” Junmyeon says, sticking out his hand. Yifan looks at it.

“What? You want some banana milk as payment or something?”

“Payment is fine,” Junmyeon replies simply. Minseok stifles a laugh. Yifan glares at his friend before digging into his pocket and producing a packet of Pepero. Junmyeon’s mind travels back to when he was in his third year of middle school, watching Yifan in a snack store just outside Yifan’s high school. The middle school was just beside the high school, and when it was time for Junmyeon’s ride to drive past the snack store, Junmyeon asked his chauffeur to slow down the car so that Junmyeon could watch Yifan walking down the pedestrian walkway, sharing his Pepero with his friends. He had always wished, back then, that one day he too could share Pepero with Yifan.

“Here you go,” Yifan says. “Now do what you promised since you’ve received your payment.” He turns around and Minseok and Yixing follow suit. Junmyeon looks at the little packet of Pepero in his hand and smiles. He wonders to himself if there’s a way to express his gratitude towards Yifan, and of all ways he thinks up, Junmyeon decides to use the one he had read once in a _manhwa_.

“ _Sunbae—_ ” Yifan turns around (and Junmyeon regrets calling that out because he refers only to Yifan as _sunbae_ , while the other two he refers to as _hyung_ , so of course only Yifan would turn around) “— _nimdeul…_ ” Junmyeon weakly makes an attempt to include Yixing and Minseok in what he’s about to say. “Um...good luck with your study session,” he says awkwardly. He can feel a blush blooming on his cheeks already and he really wishes he could make that go away.

But suddenly, totally unexpectedly, and for the first time ever, Yifan _smiles_ at Junmyeon. And this smile looks _sincere_.

“It’s just a study session,” Yifan replies. “We don’t really need good luck...but...thanks.” He turns away quickly and rubs the back of his neck as he walks off with his two friends.

Junmyeon’s heart suddenly feels warm again, and he hates himself for liking someone so much that a little smiling makes him overlook all the rudeness and the meanness. But as always, Junmyeon can’t help himself when it comes to Yifan.

  


~*~

  


It’s late. Junmyeon has sat up for probably three hours waiting for Tiffany to return. He’s read manga, he’s played console games, he’s browsed the internet. He’s bored.

He sighs, getting up and walking over to the desk he’s got filled with the pictures of Yifan he bought back in their high school days. He’s thought so many times how stupid this ‘shrine’ is and how he should honestly just throw it all away, but of course he can never bring himself to do it.

He puts the Pepero Yifan had given him next to a box that’s sitting on the desk. That box.

He remembers that day, in high school. He had finally built up the courage to confess to Yifan, to confess to the charismatic basketball player who he’d been crushing on basically all year. He’d bought a bracelet—nothing fancy—and he was going to give it as a confession gift.

He had the box with him as he approached the classroom Yifan and his friends normally hung out in. His heart was beating so loud in his ears that he wasn’t sure others couldn’t hear it. So he’s surprised he heard what he heard.

“I don’t like guys that way,” Yifan had said firmly.

“Really? Are you sure?” came Yixing’s voice.

“Don’t be stupid, you guys know me,” Yifan had replied. Junmyeon’s heart was beating faster and faster.

“Okay so theoretically, if a guy confessed to you, you would just reject him? You wouldn’t even give him a chance?” Yixing prodded, and Junmyeon was sure that his heartbeat couldn’t possibly be any faster.

“Of course not,” Yifan had replied boldly. “It honestly makes me a bit sick just thinking about it.”

Junmyeon feels like his heart is being ripped apart, torn into pieces. How could Junmyeon have been so stupid? Of course Yifan liked girls only—most guys do. It’s crazy to think he had a chance with him. Knowing that he had some sort of closure didn’t stop Junmyeon’s heart from breaking, and he had run down the hall as fast as his shaky legs could carry him. He didn’t even stop when he bumped into a table—he just needed to get out of there.

He ended up in a bathroom on the other side of the school, crying his eyes out. It wasn’t good. He needed to take care of himself—of his heart—and to do that, he’d need to forget Yifan.

Of course, the forgetting part was way harder than he thought it would be, and even now, knowing he has no chance, he can’t get himself to forget.

He finally hears Tiffany’s voice in the hallway, so he gathers up the notes he was supposed to deliver. He’s about to open the door when he hears another voice, too.

It’s Yifan.

Junmyeon’s heart sinks again. He waited all night. He sat up just so that he could pass Yifan’s binder of notes to Tiffany and here Yifan is _with her_. He’s not even sad at this point—he’s livid. He opens his door and silently waits to be noticed, fuming with anger.

“Oh, right on time,” Yifan says as Junmyeon steps into the hallway. “Tiff, I left the notes with Shortie to return them to you.”

Tiffany smiles dazzlingly at Junmyeon. “Thank you so much! Sorry you had to wait up,” she says gratefully as she goes to take the notes from Junmyeon’s hand. “And thanks for taking me home, Yifan,” she says as she steps into her room. “Goodnight!”

“‘Night,” Yifan says, waiting for her door to close and lock before turning to Junmyeon. “Hey, don’t look so grouchy. She called me to pick her up. I didn’t know I was going to see her tonight.”

“Whatever,” Junmyeon frowns, turning towards his room.

“Hey, I’m not done with you, Shortie,” Yifan says with a slightly stronger tone of voice.

“Stop calling me that!” Junmyeon cries, turning back towards Yifan angrily.

Yifan looks mad. “Is that how you talk to your seniors?”

Junmyeon ignores the _sunbae_ , turning towards his door and mouths, “Fuck you,” and Yifan easily reads his lips. In one step, Yifan’s hand is grabbing Junmyeon’s collar and pulling him close. Junmyeon’s toes are just barely touching the floor and Yifan looks furious.

“You’ve been toeing the line since day one and today you’ve crossed it. This is the last time I’m going to tolerate you. I’m not going to be nice next time, _Shortie_.” He releases Junmyeon’s collar and pushes him towards his door, stalking off without so much as a glance behind him.

Junmyeon feels his face heating up, feels the the pricks of tears behind his eyelids. He looks up in an effort to keep the tears from falling. He takes a deep, deep breath. This isn’t worth it. It’s too hard to like Yifan and to hope to be liked back because it’s clearly never going to happen.

  


~*~

  


(Rivulets of water run down the drain. Yifan hangs his head low, letting the water rain down his face and neck. The water stings his eyes so he shuts them.

The image of Junjun’s tear-glazed eyes inexplicably comes to mind. Junjun’s eyes had looked so much like those round, bespectacled eyes of the little bunny he’d stared at so often during high school.

“No way,” Yifan convinces himself that it is impossible for Junjun to be the same person as his little bunny. The only reason Yifan is being extra harsh to the Biology Moon is because he doesn’t want to feel guilty for having his eyes on someone else but _him_.

Yifan turns off the shower. He’s clearly being ridiculous, and he figures sleeping it off will be the best way to rid himself of these nonsensical thoughts.)

  


~*~

  


Junmyeon is distracted, and he hates being rude when Chanyeol is talking to him, but he keeps thinking about the argument he had with Yifan last night. And why he was so irritated at that time.

Chanyeol stops talking when Junmyeon sighs deeply, and he cocks his head to the side as if to ask what’s up.

“Tiffany- _noona_ is pretty,” Junmyeon says.

“Who?” Chanyeol asks. “Oh, you mean Campus Star from the Medicine Faculty? Yeah, she’s rather pretty.”

“And she’s smart too,” Junmyeon continues.

“Right, she must be smart if she’s a medical student,” Chanyeol agrees.

“She really fits Yifan, don’t you think so?” Junmyeon comments, and Chanyeol doesn’t reply. “If they get married they’ll have smart, beautiful babies.”

“Why are you suddenly mentioning Yifan?” Chanyeol asks.

Junmyeon bites his lower lip for moment. “I’m just thinking; why did I even think that I had a chance with him before? Why did I think that a straight guy like him would ever like someone like me. Was I really that stupid?”

Chanyeol tilts his head a little, a frown appearing. “I don’t think so. It’s not stupid to fall in love; it’s human nature.”

Junmyeon looks down at his hands. “What if I make the same mistake, Chanyeol?” He places his cheeks on his palms and takes a deep breath. He lets out a heavy sigh. “What if it happens all over again?”

Chanyeol crosses his arms across his chest. “Once is a mistake, twice is a choice,” Chanyeol replies calmly. “But sometimes, there is no choice. That’s the thing about love; you just don’t know when it comes.”

Junmyeon’s bites his lip again, deep in thought. “I just don’t want to get hurt.”

Chanyeol puts down his arms and relaxes his posture. “No one wants to get hurt. But people still keep on trying and I think you should too.” Junmyeon is still unconvinced. There’s no reason to get hurt purposely. But what Chanyeol said was right. Then Chanyeol adds, “And when that time comes, you’ll always have a friend here who will support you.”

Junmyeon heaves a sigh of relief, then smiles at his best friend. “Thanks, Chanyeol.”

  


~*~

  


Junmyeon has pushed himself too much today. He went to bed really late last night, but he has dance practice to attend early in the morning. He thought drinking coffee and eating a light breakfast (if half a sandwich is considered breakfast) would be enough to help him stay awake, but his brain decides to take a rest while his body is tired from all the vigorous movement during practice.

He goes to a corner to rehydrate himself and shuts his eyes; his throat and lungs burning from the rush of air. He feels the heat on his face dissipate as the rhythm of his breath gets slower and slower.

And then he falls asleep.

When Junmyeon opens his eyes, he feels a mattress beneath him, a firm pillow under his head, and a comfy blanket over his body. Serene white noise fills the space instead of the blaring sound of the same dance song he has heard over and over for the past few days.

Then comes a voice: “Are you up, Junjun?”

Junmyeon’s eyes open wide at the realization that he is not alone in the room. He turns his head to see a silhouette of a person; big, tall. Junmyeon blinks his eyes in an attempt to adapt to the lighting. The tall silhouette grows bigger and towers over him. A certain name pops in the back of his mind. The nearer it gets, the more Junmyeon catches the detail of the person.

It’s not _him_.

“Are you feeling okay?” Taekwoon sits on a chair near the bed. Junmyeon blinks some more, hoping that what he is seeing is not real. But Taekwoon stays there, unmoving.

His upper body feels heavy when he raises himself up from the bed and sits up. “I think I’m fine. Wha—” Junmyeon looks around the room. There is another white bed on the other side of the room and a desk in one corner. The health room. “—what happened?”

“You’ve been out for…” Taekwoon checks his phone. “Around four hours.” Junmyeon breathes in in surprise.

“What time is it now?” Junmyeon asks. Taekwoon shows him his phone screen and Junmyeon reads the time under his breath. He can’t believe it’s already past lunchtime.

“How did I get here?” Junmyeon wants to know.

“Oh. Chanyeol brought you here, but he had to go practice, so one of us Moons has to wait for you here,” replies Taekwoon.

Junmyeon shows his surprise, “You’ve been here for four hours?”

“No, I just came here about an hour ago. Yifan was here before me.”

A puzzled look appears on Junmyeon’s face. “Yifan- _sunbae_?”

The upperclassman nods. “He stayed here to take care of you but he had to go back to his campus for a test, and he said he’ll come back after that. I don’t mind staying longer, though.” Junmyeon can only reply with a distant smile; the neurons in his brain are too busy firing off signals to each other upon hearing that Yifan was there with him, looking after him while he was unconscious. “Are you really okay, though?” asks Taekwoon.

Junmyeon holds his thought about that medical upperclassman. “I’m fine, really,” Junmyeon chuckles. “I just didn’t sleep enough last night.”

“Yet you still come to the dance practice,” Taekwoon comments.

Junmyeon shrugs, “What more can I do? It’s my responsibility. I can’t just quit.”

Taekwoon nods his head in understanding. “Last year, one of the Moons wanted to quit because there were two Stars fighting over him. But no one from his major wanted to take his place. So in the end, he had to participate in the competition until the end. And guess what? He won the competition and became the Campus Moon for the year.”

Junmyeon tilts his head to a side. “So…it was Yifan- _sunbae_.” Taekwoon nods his head a few times as an answer before continuing, “To be honest, he was never willing to participate in the competition in the first place. That incident gave him more reason to quit, but he pushed through because he _had_ to. It was his responsibility.”

 _“Then quit,”_ Yifan had said. _“If you can’t handle it, just quit.”_ At first Junmyeon thought that Yifan was talking out of his ass, but it turned out that Yifan too, had once thought of quitting the competition. But Yifan still continued. There is no reason why Junmyeon shouldn’t do the same.

“He’s quite…amazing.” Junmyeon comments, a hint of a smile appearing on his face.

“Are you guys badmouthing me?” comes a deep voice. Junmyeon and Taekwoon both turn to the door to see Yifan standing right by the door frame with a paper bag in his hand. Yifan then walks over to the bed and places the bag on the over-bed trolley. Junmyeon tries not to make any eye contact with Yifan, slightly embarrassed about getting caught talking behind Yifan’s back.

“Should’ve been gone longer,” Taekwoon jests. Yifan just chuckles in response. Junmyeon catches the brief glance Yifan gives to him.

“By the way,” Yifan turns to Taekwoon, “Hakyeon is looking for you, _as usual_.”

Taekwoon groans and confesses, “I muted him on KakaoTalk. He talks too much.”

“He’s your best friend; of course he’ll be looking for you,” states Yifan.

Taekwoon sighs. “Want to trade best friends? I’ll trade Hakyeon with Yixing for free.” Yifan can only laugh at that ridiculous request. Junmyeon observes how freely Yifan smiles and how pleasant Yifan’s laughter sounds when he’s with other people. He wonders if there would ever be a day where Yifan acts like that with him too.

“I’ll be going then. Take care, Junjun.” Taekwoon bids him goodbye and exchanges a fist bump with Yifan before he leaves the room.

Now it is only Junmyeon and Yifan in the room.

Yifan taps his fingers on the over-bed trolley to a rhythm before his hand goes for the paper bag. “I…brought you something. You haven’t had lunch, right?” Yifan asks.

“Hmm? Ah—yeah.” Junmyeon’s brain can only provide him with choppy sentences right now.

Yifan produces a lunch box from the paper bag and puts it down on the trolley before pushing the trolley towards Junmyeon. Junmyeon looks up at the upperclassman, hoping his eyes haven’t gone too wide. “I brought you lunch,” Yifan says before continuing in a softer voice, “Don’t know if you’ll like it, though.”

Junmyeon reaches for the lunch box, feeling the warmth with his palms. He lifts off the lid and peeks into the container. There is a portion of beef bulgogi, some seasoned spinach, bean sprouts and carrot pieces cut into cute little flowers. Junmyeon can’t wait to dig in. He shows his appreciation (“I’ll eat well!”) and splits the wooden chopsticks open then proceeds to eat a piece of carrot (his favourite).

Junmyeon hears a rustling sound and looks up to see Yifan producing another item from the paper bag—a red apple. Yifan puts the apple beside the lunch box. “ _Sagwa_ ,” Yifan says in a solemn voice.

Junmyeon looks at the apple and then back at Yifan. “Yes, that’s an apple.”

“Ah…” Yifan says, scratching the back of his neck. “No, I meant the other _sagwa_...I’m sorry for last night.”

Junmyeon frowns as he tries to remember anything that needs to be forgiven, and then recollection floods his mind. The glaring, the collar-grabbing, the shouting, Junmyeon trying his best not to cry. It was harsh when he thinks about it. Yifan made a mistake—that was true—but Junmyeon wasn’t right either. He was definitely being rude.

“I want to apologize too,” Junmyeon replies sheepishly. “I was really rude to _sunbaenim_ last night.”

Yifan taps the back of the chair for a while before he takes the seat Taekwoon had left unoccupied. “I was wrong, really. I shouldn’t have made you stay up that late just to give Tiffany the notes. She’s already smart, she doesn’t need those extra notes.”

“Hey,” Junmyeon teases, “You’re smart too! I’ve known that since—” _high school_. Junmyeon stops himself and changes his words. “—since you are a medical student. Only smart people can succeed in the medical faculty.” Junmyeon then hastily takes a big bite of the rice.

Yifan raises his eyebrow and then states, “There are many people who are smarter than me. They just don’t happen to study medicine like me. Or be as handsome as me.”

Junmyeon gives a judging face at the upperclassman and he chuckles. _Chanyeol has competition for the Most Self-Confident Award,_ he thinks. They both are too confident with their looks (though if he’s being honest, they have a right to be).

“Taekwoon _-sunbae_ said that you took your test just now. Did it go well?”

Yifan gives him a smug look. “Of course it went well.”

Junmyeon oohs in mock amazement. “If you get the top score, I’ll buy you dinner,” Junmyeon says freely; his mood is good now, for some reason.  


Yifan makes a face that holds a hint of surprise. “Really? You’d do that?” Junmyeon nods gleefully. “I’ll hold you to it, then. Prepare your money,” Yifan smiles, making Junmyeon’s heart flutter.

  
“You are so confident, aren’t you?” Junmyeon comments offhandedly, no longer reserved. Yifan just shrugs, a smirk still plastered on that handsome face. Junmyeon feels like he wants to throw the pillow at him while also wanting to kiss the smirk away.

“Oh, I forgot,” Yifan says suddenly, taking the last item out of the bag. It’s the yellow coloured bottle that Junmyeon loves so much—banana milk. Junmyeon laughs once more—he hasn’t been this happy in a long time.

  


~*~

  


Later that afternoon, in the comfort of his own bed, Junmyeon browses through his phone and opens the gallery to see the pictures he took of the red apple and banana milk. Yifan left him in the health room not long after giving him the banana milk, so Junmyeon had taken his time to get some Instagram-worthy pictures of the treats. Junmyeon picks the best one and writes the date on the picture. He considers uploading it to his Instagram story when he remembers that Chanyeol is surely going to bombard him with questions.

Junmyeon’s mind travels for a while. It’s weird when he looks back at what happened in the health room. For the longest time, Junmyeon had thought that Yifan was unapproachable and impossible to reach, just like the moon in the sky. But this afternoon, Junmyeon finally felt like the Moon was just within his reach. The conversation came easily between them and Junmyeon wonders why couldn’t they treat each other nicely from the very beginning.

  
Junmyeon is about to add a sticker of a full moon to the picture when he hears his phone ping.

Chanyeol: I have something to tell you

Junmyeon hears another ping, this time from Taekwoon.

Taekwoon: Hey

  
Taekwoon: Taekwoon here

  
Taekwoon: Got your Kakao ID from Chanyeol. Wanna grab some dinner some time tomorrow?  


Junmyeon is quick to reply “Sure, let’s go!” complete with cute emojis and then opens up the private chat room with Chanyeol.

Chanyeol: Taekwoon came to me and asked for your Kakao ID

Chanyeol: Junmyeon- _ah_

Chanyeol: I think he likes you

Junmyeon frowns at the ridiculous assumption.

Junmyeon: Well

Junmyeon: I like him too

Junmyeon: What’s the problem

Chanyeol: Idiot

Chanyeol: It’s not that ‘like’

Chanyeol: It’s the other like

  
Chanyeol: The one that leads to LOVE

Junmyeon scoffs in disbelief. He presses the mic button and says, “That is im-po-ssi-ble,” then sends the voice note to his best friend. He gets up from his bed and heads to the bathroom, leaving the phone on the mattress, a picture of the banana milk beside an apple filling the background of the phone screen before it dims to black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 coming soon!  
> If you didn't catch it, "sagwa" in Korean means apple and it also means apology :)


	3. 3회

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back!!

Junmyeon smiles as Yifan grabs a piece of meat out of the hotpot.

“Here,” Yifan says smoothly, holding out his chopsticks. Junmyeon happily accepts the slice of beef Yifan has passed him, and Yifan reaches over, smiling, to wipe some sauce off Junmyeon’s mouth. Junmyeon can feel himself blushing as Yifan picks up some tofu to give to Junmyeon...

Wait, no, it’s Taekwoon who’s feeding him. Taekwoon leans in, holding the meat steady before Junmyeon before letting it settle between Junmyeon’s lips. Junmyeon chuckles as Taekwoon tries to wrangle a piece of kimchi into Junmyeon’s mouth too…

“Hey,” comes Chanyeol’s voice, and Junmyeon snaps out of his multiple-scenario fantasy. It’s break and now Junmyeon has to consider two promises he made. His promise to go to dinner with Taekwoon was quite clear. But with Yifan...only if he gets the top score.

“Ah,” Junmyeon sighs, slouching on the bench next to Chanyeol. This is complicated.

“Got a problem again?” Chanyeol asks. “What is it now?”

Junmyeon’s eyebrows furrow. “I have a dilemma.” Chanyeol gives his full attention to his best friend. “I don’t know whether to choose…” (“Choose what?” Chanyeol whispers curiously.) “...a Chinese restaurant or a Korean restaurant.”

Chanyeol’s eyebrow twitches. “You looked like you were having thoughts on how to run a country! You were just thinking of _restaurants_?”

“Hey, it’s a real worry, okay?” Junmyeon defends himself. “You have no right to judge my worry when you were the one who had a hard time choosing between the Italian BMT and the meatball marinara sandwiches last week.”

“That is true.” Chanyeol deadpans. Suddenly, a mischievous look surfaces on his face. Junmyeon has no time to be alarmed when Chanyeol drops a remark, “But I have a feeling that it’s not about the restaurant…”

Junmyeon naturally averts his eyes from his best friend’s, trying to feign ignorance for a moment before realizing that silence implies agreement. “Where are you going with this?” Junmyeon fakes annoyance hoping it will hinder further inquiries.

“I’m just guessing,” Chanyeol shrugs. “What’s so hard about it anyway? You pick one restaurant this time, then go to the other one next time. Problem solved!”

Junmyeon looks at his best friend helplessly. “It’s not that easy,” he says, and Chanyeol then changes his position to look directly at at his best friend. Junmyeon is clearly uncomfortable about the blatant stare, still maintaining his refusal to meet Chanyeol’s accusing eyes.

“Not easy, huh. What exactly is ‘not easy’, hmm?” Chanyeol uses air quotes with a teasing tone.

Junmyeon unconsciously bites his lower lip, affected by the sudden rush of guilt about keeping Chanyeol in the dark. He is about to reason it out when suddenly Chanyeol goes wide-eyed, mumbling something like “Damn.” Junmyeon has seen that look on Chanyeol’s face quite a few times before, and those times involved either food or good looking people. Junmyeon turns around, wondering what made his best friend so entranced, only to see Yifan, Minseok and Yixing not far from them, talking to some other upperclassmen.

Junmyeon nearly jumps out of his skin when Yifan turns to look at him too and in a split second, whips his head back around to face Chanyeol. “Wa—water,” Junmyeon stammers to excuse himself from his seat. Junmyeon speed walks to the water dispenser with his water bottle clutched in his hand. He tries to open the water bottle but the strength in his hands has strangely disappeared—he curses himself for being too nervous for no good reason. It’s just Yifan; the same Yifan from school, the same jerk who trampled on his feelings. But it is also the same Yifan who stayed with him in the health room for hours before his test, the same person who apologized using a red apple, the same one who made Junmyeon feel like he was on cloud nine just because of a humble banana milk.

Yifan is being too nice for a change and it makes Junmyeon anxious, because now he is going to hope for something that he knows is not real. Much like Santa or dragons, Yifan loving him back will never be part of reality.

Junmyeon’s mind reminds him of another problem to dwell upon—the promise he made about dinner. Years ago, Junmyeon would not have even dared to step out of the shadows by the sidewalk Yifan walked on, but yesterday he actually promised Yifan a dinner should Yifan get the top score. “No way,” Junmyeon tells himself, gritting his teeth as he unscrews the lid of the water bottle. Yifan may be smart, but like he said, there are others out there who are smarter than him. Having that handsome of a face and being a top scorer too—that is just unfair.

Once his bottle is full, Junmyeon screws the lid back on while grumbling to himself about how unjust the world is, not noticing the footsteps coming towards him. After he makes sure that the lid is secure, Junmyeon turns on his heels only to walk straight into someone. Junmyeon quickly utters an apology when he hears a rather deep peal of laughter.

“Watch where you’re going, Shortie.”

Junmyeon’s ears prick at the familiar nickname. Shit, it’s him. Junmyeon slowly looks up to see Yifan looking down at him, a perpetual smirk still on his handsome face.

“How come whenever I see you, you always seem to have problem?” asks Yifan, voice oddly warm. “What are you grumbling about, hm?”

If Junmyeon didn’t have any self control, he would have melted right there and then. But he convinces himself that this is just a pleasant exchange between a _sunbae_ and a _hoobae_ —nothing more. “I was…thinking about what to eat.”

“Already thinking about our dinner? Such a nice _dongsaeng_ you are,” Yifan says. Junmyeon’s mind singles out the word ‘our’ and it echoes in his skull, bouncing from one side to the other. Junmyeon tries not to let his heart start fluttering again.

“Look,” Yifan holds his phone at Junmyeon’s eye level. Junmyeon blinks a few times before he takes the phone from Yifan. ‘General Principles and Hematopoietic System Test’ is written on top of the screen, and Junmyeon scrolls down and down to see Yifan’s name highlighted in neon yellow.

“Ninety-one percent,” Junmyeon reads.

“Top score,” Yifan adds, face smug before he takes the phone away. Junmyeon’s waits for Yifan to make his point. “So,” Yifan leans on the wall beside the water dispenser before he continues, “what are we having then?”

The fluttering of his heart resumes in full force. _Stop using collective pronouns already!_ Junmyeon screams in his mind, trying to control how quickly his heart is beating. “We can go…eat hotpot?” Junmyeon offers a suggestion.

Yifan’s face shows a hint of surprise. “Such a coincidence! I’ve been craving hotpot for quite some time. I’m amazed.” Junmyeon can only respond with an awkward laugh, thankful that Yifan doesn’t know about the dilemma he was having this morning. Suddenly, he feels a gentle hand on his head. Junmyeon looks up to see a smile—a sincere one—directed towards him. “Thank you,” Yifan tells him. The flutter is uncontrollable at this point, there’s no reason to attempt to control it now. A smile starts to bloom on Junmyeon’s lips when—

“Yifan,” comes a voice that is unmistakably female. Junmyeon looks on as Tiffany invades his vision, the scent of her strong perfume making him cough. She gives a curt look at Junmyeon before sliding her hand into the crook of Yifan’s elbow. “Let’s go celebrate your top score. You’ve been going on and on about hotpot for ages, and now we have a perfect reason to go!” Junmyeon’s eyes zero in on the hands that rest on Yifan’s arm.

“Next time?” Yifan asks Junmyeon, sounding sincerely apologetic. _Please don’t,_ Junmyeon thinks to himself. Y _ou’ll make me think that you like me when you don’t_. Junmyeon shifts his gaze onto Tiffany’s face, only to look down because she obviously doesn’t care a bit about him.

“It’s okay, Yifan- _sunbae._ You should go with your friends. Hotpot is better with a crowd, anyway.” Junmyeon forces a smile.

“See? Even Junjun understands. Now let’s go; we don’t want to get stuck in traffic.” Tiffany drags her classmate away, leaving Junmyeon standing by the water dispenser alone.

His fluttering heart is still.

 

~*~

 

“Hey, it’s gonna get burnt!”

Chanyeol’s boisterous voice shakes Junmyeon out of his trance. His best friend is now flipping thin slices of beef on the grill while Junmyeon’s chopsticks are still hovering in mid-air. Chanyeol chides him for ‘dishonouring the beef’ and Junmyeon proceeds to apologize to Taekwoon (who is paying for the meal). Taekwoon just brushes it off, even taking some barbecued beef and putting it on Junmyeon’s plate.

“This boy keeps spacing out nowadays. Once, we were eating at the park when he just totally spaced out. These _hyungs_ sitting right across from us thought that Junmyeon was staring at them. If I wasn’t there, he would have gotten his ass beaten already.” Chanyeol explains, and Junmyeon can only pout because Chanyeol is unfortunately, telling the truth. The only thing Chanyeol didn’t know is that Junmyeon was lost in thought at that time, just like now, because of Yifan. He prefers to keep that fact all to himself for the time being.

Still pouting, Junmyeon silently nibbles on some lettuce when he hears Taekwoon say “Cute.” Junmyeon looks up to find that Taekwoon is unmistakably looking straight at him. He feels his face getting warm, and Chanyeol nudges him with his sharp elbow teasingly, which Junmyeon returns with a soft jab.

“ _Hyung,_ I am curious about something,” Chanyeol pipes up. Junmyeon focuses on flipping the meat on the grill. He is about to make a lettuce wrap when Chanyeol asks, “About last year’s Campus Moon and Star—are they dating?” Junmyeon unceremoniously drop his chopsticks onto the table. Chanyeol only gives him a brief glance before he continues, “So _hyung_ , is it true?”

Junmyeon looks at his best friend, wondering why exactly Chanyeol chose to ask the question. Does Chanyeol like Tiffany- _noona?_ How come he didn’t tell Junmyeon? Is Chanyeol keeping secrets from him? Junmyeon can only keep the questions to himself and swallows down his predicament along with the wrapped meat.

“Nah, they’re not an item. Tiffany is into him but I don’t know if he feels the same way about her. Why are you so curious so suddenly?” Taekwoon replies. “Are you trying to go after her?”

Chanyeol laughs. “Nah, not her.”

“Oh, Yifan then?” Taekwoon jokes, and Chanyeol pretends to be offended. Junmyeon is smiling right now, but deep inside he wonders why Chanyeol chose to ask that particular question. His guilt for keeping Chanyeol in the dark about the crush he still has is surfacing.

“Hey, I’d rather date this guy—,” Chanyeol drapes his long arm over Junmyeon’s shoulder; Junmyeon wriggles in Chanyeol’s hold, “—than that Prince Charming,” Chanyeol cackles after letting Junmyeon go. “We would be YeolJun couple.”

“Hey!” Junmyeon cries indignantly. “I never agreed to date _you_ , and why must it be YeolJun, not JunYeol? Why am I the bottom?"

“Have you even looked at yourself, you tiny thing?” Chanyeol coos, and Junmyeon is seriously going to hit him. He grabs Chanyeol by the neck, nearly pushing him off his chair before Chanyeol begs for mercy. “I’m kidding! I’m kidding!” Junmyeon smiles—it was kind of funny and he likes hitting Chanyeol and hearing Chanyeol plead for a truce.

“You look so cute when you smile,” Taekwoon says, and Chanyeol and Junmyeon both look at him. “I hope I can see you smile more.”

“Oh, _hyung_ just called you cute, Junjun!” Chanyeol teases, and Junmyeon doesn’t retaliate this time because he suddenly feels rather shy. He actually doesn’t mind being seen as cute and when it’s Taekwoon it’s really not bad…

“But you can’t be Campus Moon,” Taekwoon continues, and Junmyeon looks up with a frown.

“Why not?”

“Well, you’re more cute than handsome, and if you compare yourself with last year’s Moon...well, isn’t our Engineering Moon for this year more suitable? Don’t you think, Chanyeol?” Chanyeol lets out a whoop in acknowledgement as he and Taekwoon clink their soju glasses together.

“Obviously you would root for your own faculty,” Junmyeon rolls his eyes. “So what if I win, then?”

“You won’t,” Taekwoon shakes his head. “It’s a big dream.”

“What if?” Junmyeon reiterates, and Taekwoon turns to face him fully, smiling at his cute _hoobae_.

“Then I’ll give you a prize,” Taekwoon says, his voice dropping lower.

“Promise?” Junmyeon asks, and holds out his pinky for Taekwoon to swear by. Taekwoon laughs.

“You’re trying to murder me with _aegyo_ , huh? It’s not going to work, Junjun,” he says, but he pinky promises with Junmyeon anyway.

  
  


~*~

 

 

Junmyeon doesn’t know how he fell asleep on his couch but by the time he wakes up, his eyes feel dry yet his vision is oddly clear. He rubs his eyes and then he feels something moving under his eyelids. _Shit, forgot to take out my contacts._ He rushes to the bathroom to search for the saline solution only to find the bottle sitting innocently in the trash can. He tries to find his stash of spare saline solution that he always keeps in his drawer, but to his disappointment, the expiration date has already passed.

His eyes were getting itchy because the contacts were so dry, but there's no way he’s storing his contacts in tap water. He has heard horror stories of people getting eye infections and even going blind. Not willing to risk his eyesight, he figures he has to head down to the convenience store to get a new bottle (and some snacks, too) even though it’s already after midnight. He grabs his hoodie, his wallet, and his umbrella before leaving the room.

He heads out the door of the dorm as it starts to rain. It’s fine, though, because the convenience store isn’t too far away from his dorm and Junmyeon has his trustworthy umbrella, after all. He wishes he had something more insulated than a hoodie protecting him from the wind, but he braves the rain, aiming to get back to the dorm as soon as he finishes shopping. He contemplates what kind of snack he will choose as he walks through the parking lot. Pudding, maybe? Or honey butter chips? Even though those are a bit less trendy now than they used to be, Junmyeon still likes them.

Under the dim street light, he spots someone in the rain. Junmyeon doesn’t even hesitate before running to help, because how could he just leave someone to get wet when he has an umbrella?

As it turns out, the person who is in the rain is none other than Yifan. Junmyeon knows he looks like a mess, but Yifan doesn’t seem to care at all. Yifan wears the evidence of a long day made apparent by his slightly dishevelled hair and tired face. Junmyeon just wants to rush Yifan back to his room and put him to bed. Yifan just says thank you and looks at Junmyeon curiously.

“Shortie, what are you doing out here this late?”

“Need to go to the store to buy something,” Junmyeon answers. “What about you?”

“Just finished a tutoring session,” Yifan replies briefly. Junmyeon nods as a response, but because of the dryness, he keeps blinking and Yifan notices. Yifan leans in to look at Junmyeon properly, making Junmyeon freeze in place.

“Your eyes are kind of red,” Yifan comments.

“Uhh…yes, because of my contact lenses,” Junmyeon explains, changing his line of his sight after way too much intense eye contact with his crush. “I’m going to get more saline solution.”

“You’re shortsighted?” Yifan asks, and Junmyeon nods. “Hm.”

“Well, let’s get going then,” Junmyeon says awkwardly. It feels so bizarre to have such a normal conversation with Yifan that he feels like he needs to leave.

“Where are you going?” Yifan asks as Junmyeon starts to lead them back to the dorm. “The convenience store is that way.”

“Yeah…” Junmyeon responds, “but the dorm is that way.”

“I’m coming with you, ” Yifan replies as if it is the most obvious thing in the world.

“But you’re already wet. You should got back to your room; what if you catch a cold tomorrow?” Junmyeon says out of pure concern. There’s no reason for Yifan to accompany him whatsoever—Junmyeon can just go to the store alone. Disregarding Junmyeon’s suggestion, Yifan then takes the umbrella from Junmyeon’s hand and raises it further up above their heads.

“Are you worrying about me? How cute,” says Yifan.

Junmyeon is flustered for a moment, then he retaliates with, “Even if it’s not you, I’ll still worry about anyone who’s just been drenched.” Yifan simply replies with a brief “I see,” then proceeds to move towards the convenience store. He moves so quickly that Junmyeon gets uncovered, and when the cold rain hits him, he realizes his umbrella has been stolen.

“Hey, you can’t seize my umbrella like that!” Junmyeon runs to get back under the umbrella. However, Junmyeon’s slipper-clad foot slides across the wet road, causing Junmyeon to nearly fall over backwards in the rain. Nearly, but it doesn’t happen, because Yifan is there with his fast reflexes and long arms. By the time Junmyeon realizes it, he already has his arm around Yifan’s waist while Yifan is supporting Junmyeon’s back with the hand that was holding the umbrella. As soon as Junmyeon gets back on his feet, he fixes his hoodie over his head in an attempt to hide his blushing face from Yifan’s view.

“See?” says Yifan, “isn’t it good to have me around?” Junmyeon chooses not to answer; not when he can hear his own heart beating loudly over the rain.

When they arrive at the convenience store, Junmyeon remembers to buy a foldable umbrella after he gets all the items he needed. Junmyeon lets Yifan use the big umbrella while he uses his new, mint-coloured umbrella.

The rain on his way back to the dorm is not as heavy; Junmyeon thinks it is the perfect time to initiate a conversation with Yifan.

“You got the top score on your quiz today,” Junmyeon mentions on their way back. “That’s quite good.”

“Just good?” Yifan asks, and Junmyeon looks at him, rolling his eyes and trying his best not to smile.

“Spectacular. Amazing. Out of this world. Is that better?” he asked, and Yifan shakes his head.

“Ah, this short kid,” he laments, and Junmyeon shakes his head too.

“If only you fixed your attitude, then _sunbaenim_ would be perfect,” Junmyeon says.

Yifan scoffs. “As if you don’t have an attitude too.”

“I’m just returning the favor,” Junmyeon replies calmly. “If you were nice to me from the beginning I would have been nice too.”

Yifan steps a little closer. “Well,” he smiles softly. “We can start over, if you like.”

  
  


~*~

  
  


Chanyeol’s reaction when he meets Junmyeon early in the morning the next day is about the same as the others—surprised. And Junmyeon understands, because even though he still wears his glasses in the comfort of his own room, he never wears them outside ever since he started using contacts on daily basis.

“Hey, my boy Myeonnie is back! Man, I haven’t seen you wearing specs out in the sunlight for years.” Junmyeon rolls his eyes at the exaggeration; he only started wearing contacts about a year ago. “What happened?” Chanyeol asks.

“I slept with contacts still on last night.” Junmyeon says, and Chanyeol cringes at that. “I had to go out and buy contact solution, but my eyes still hurt, so I wore my glasses today,” he explains. For a while he thought last night’s events had been a dream, but the pain in his eyes reminded him that it was all very much real.

“You were that tired, huh?” says Chanyeol. “Me too. I don’t even get to go out for drinks now; I’m just so tired from all this practicing that playing games is all I really want to do,” he chuckles. Junmyeon nods. The practices _are_ tiring, and just as they finish lamenting their exhaustion, the upperclassmen call them back to gather for the beginning of today’s practice.  
  


~*~

  
  


(“...I just think that it’s time for me to…you know…move on,” Yifan explains as his long legs carry him up the stairs, heading towards the Moons and Stars practice room. Minseok follows behind at a leisurely speed.

Yifan senses the suspicious look that comes from his best friend. “Move on from what?” The look that Yifan gives Minseok is enough for Minseok to get the idea. “You mean from Myeonnie?” Minseok guesses, feet now grounded firmly. Yifan too, halts before he turns to face Minseok directly.

“I missed my chance once; I don’t want to miss what’s in front of me for the second time.”

Minseok’s brows knit. “What prompted this?” asks Minseok. Yifan is hesitant to answer, but Minseok gets it. “It’s because of that Moon, is it? Yifan, how can you be so den—”

“H-hey, guys!” comes Yixing’s voice out of nowhere. Yifan knows that Yixing arrived a bit earlier than Minseok and himself, but the awkward timing and Yixing’s tone are so obvious, Yifan (and Minseok too, perhaps) can’t help but to raise an eyebrow at him.

“Hey, Xing...what’s up?” Yifan replies, resuming his walk towards the nearby practice room.

Yixing not so subtly tries to block his advancement, and instead proposes, “You know what, let’s go for a drink! I’m kinda in the mood for a smoothie.”

Yifan thinks for a moment and then he agrees, “Okay.” The look of relief on Yixing’s face is hard to miss. Yifan takes that moment to quickly step around Yixing. “But first I need to see Jun—” The moment his eyes find the person that he was searching for, Yifan’s jaw drops.

That’s Myeonnie. _His_ Myeonnie.

In that moment he sees Myeonnie in his high school uniform, a pair of spectacles framing his doe eyes vividly. Myeonnie twirls freely on his white shoe-clad feet, smiling wide with his colourful braces showing. The same Myeonnie that he missed so much. Myeonnie disappears from his sight for a second, and when he comes into Yifan’s vision again, Myeonnie is gone and it’s now Junjun who is dancing.

The spectacles still frame those cheerful doe eyes.

In Yifan’s mind, he pieces the puzzle together.

_Junjun. Myeonnie._

_Junmyeon._

_How could he be so blind?_

“Sorry, Yifan.” Yifan hears Minseok’s voice but he can’t take his eyes away from Jun—no. Myeonnie. “It’s not that we wanted to keep it from you, but…”

Yifan heaves a heavy sigh before he reluctantly tears his gaze away and faces both of his friends directly—and it’s possible that he employs a threatening glare on his two friends.

“We need to talk.”)

  
  


~*~

 

 

“Nayeon-ah,” Junmyeon says to his partner after brushing his hair out from behind his glasses for what must be the fiftieth time that morning, “do you have something to keep my hair back? It’s annoying me.”

“Oh, sure,” she says, “let me get a hair clip.” She walks over to her bag and returns with a pink bunny clip.

“Sorry, my hair is a bit sweaty,” he apologizes as she lifts up his bangs, but she laughs.

“I think we’re all sweaty,” she says, pulling his hair out of his face and clipping it back. “So cute,” she compliments him. “The bunny suits you!”

“Thanks,” he smiles, thinking to himself that it’s surprisingly not the first time he’s been told bunnies suit him. However, he thinks that Nayeon suits the animal too; her front teeth are perfectly adorable.

(Meanwhile, if only Junmyeon could see that he was being recorded by the official camera for 'promotional purposes,' with Yixing and Minseok behind the lens. Yifan was nowhere in sight, off somewhere searching for a very important item.)

  
  


~*~

 

 

The practices seem to be getting more and more physically taxing, and Junmyeon doesn’t understand why a beauty pageant also requires them to be professional dancers. During the break he basically falls down onto the floor, catching his breath.

He closes his eyes and for the first time in a while his mind is blank.

When he opens his eyes again he sees Minseok and Yixing looking over him. “Oh,” he says, sitting up. “Hi.”

“Hmm, I see what you mean,” Yixing says, looking at him. “He is good at the sexy dance but this bunny hair clip makes him look paradoxically cute.”

“Exactly,” Minseok says. “Anyway, Junjun, here’s some lunch for you.”

“And a banana milk,” Yixing says. They both hand Junmyeon their deliveries and they only have time to call him cute and pinch his cheeks before Yifan calls them away—why didn’t Yifan come over too?

Junmyeon wonders if he really is cute or if everyone is just saying that. He thought he looked childish with his glasses, but apparently nobody else seems to think so.

“Wow,” Chanyeol says, suddenly appearing back at Junmyeon’s side. “Hey, Mr. Popular, in the spotlight, hm? How does it feel?” He chuckles before handing Junmyeon yet another packed lunch. “I picked one up for you, so now you have to finish them both.”

“You’re trying to make me sick, aren’t you?” Junmyeon accuses, and Chanyeol shakes his head in an attempt to seem innocent. Chanyeol casually parks himself beside his friend. “Hey, that short guy, who is he again?”

“Who?” Junmyeon asks back, not sure to whom Chanyeol is referring, because practically everybody except Yifan is short compared to Chanyeol.

“That cute one that looks like—like a cat.”

Junmyeon lets out a quick “ah” at the hint. “Don’t you remember? It’s Minseok- _hyung_.”

Chanyeol’s eyes widen at the revelation. “What? He used to be so…so…cute.” The last word that comes out from Chanyeol’s mouth sounds somewhat full of fondness. Junmyeon agrees in his mind; Minseok was very cute and chubby back in high school and he was known to others as _Hoppang_ for his full cheeks and fair skin that resembled that popular bread. “But now he’s… _hot._ ” Chanyeol adds, and Junmyeon sends a look of disgust at his best friend who is blatantly ogling the cat-like _sunbae_ across the room.

“Are you for real?” Junmyeon deadpans.

Chanyeol shrugs. “If he’s hot, he’s hot. Just stating a fact. Hey, give me some banana milk,” Chanyeol says, reaching for the little bottle.

“Nope, it’s mine,” Junmyeon moving it out of Chanyeol’s reach.

Chanyeol clicks his tongue, “Stingy.” Junmyeon then acquiesces, giving Chanyeol a sip as a ‘thank you’ for remembering to take a packed lunch for him.

 

 

~*~

 

 

All the Stars and Moons are relieved when practice is finished for the day. When Junmyeon had learned he was entering a “beauty pageant,” he didn’t realize it would be full-day dance practice and seemingly endless photoshoots. But he’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy it at least a little. It’s been fun meeting new people and having something to do every day.

“Okay, kids,” Kibum announces as they leave the practice hall. “Rest well for today and remember, try to come up with something for the talent show. The sooner you decide, the easier it is for us to prepare the props.”

The nervous chattering begins among the students. Some people look totally unbothered while others look like they wish their talent was to disappear.

“Do you have any idea about what you’re going to do?” Junmyeon turns to Chanyeol, and Chanyeol has that confident look on his face.

“Easy. Tae!” he punches left. “Kwon!” he punches right. “Do!” and then he bows.

“Wow,” Junmyeon deadpans, slow clapping. “Well done.” Chanyeol pushes his friend, knowing he’s being teased. “Ah, but I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“How about cosplay?”

“You think I can do that?” Junmyeon inquires, and Chanyeol nods enthusiastically.

“I think you could. You would make a bombass Asuka.”

“Oh, from Gundam SEED?”

“Well, I was thinking from Evangelion, but—” Junmyeon wastes no time in punching Chanyeol.

“Okay!” Chanyeol cries. “Stop hitting me!” He cowers from Junmyeon’s fists. Junmyeon threatens with one more punch and Chanyeol readies his palms to catch Junmyeon’s small but swift fist.

Junmyeon laughs at the giant coward. “And where’s your hat?” Junmyeon asks out of curiosity; he remembers seeing the hat on Chanyeol’s head during practice but now he notices that it is not there anymore. Chanyeol gasps dramatically, swinging his backpack towards his front and fumbling through the bag for a minute before dashing back into the practice room.

“I’ll wait here!” shouts Junmyeon to Chanyeol’s disappearing figure. He chooses to skim through the directory of food chains, restaurants and stalls around the vicinity of the campus for dinner with Chanyeol when he hears footsteps echoing through the empty corridor. He turns to look for the source when he sees Yifan walking towards him. Junmyeon freezes in his spot.

“Shortie, you finished already?” Yifan asks, and Junmyeon takes a deep breath. “I have my car with me today; let’s go back together.”

“Huh?” Junmyeon asks again, as if that’s all he can say. He thinks about his glasses, his sweaty hair, his blotchy cheeks. He must look so terrible right now but Yifan doesn’t seem to be looking at that.

“You don’t want to come?”

“Ah…” Junmyeon can’t form a proper word right now; he is too worried about his appearance. Chanyeol conveniently comes out of the practice room with his hat back on his head. He gives a short bow to Yifan before telling Junmyeon, “Listen, a _hyung_ that I know wants me to come to his gym now to help me with my talent. So I won’t be able to come back with you today, sorry.”

Junmyeon gives a long “Uh…” and slowly turns to Yifan.

“I’ll send him back.” Yifan says, and Chanyeol quickly brightens up.

“Is that so? Good, then. I’ll go first!” Chanyeol leaves them both, not forgetting to wave at his best friend. Junmyeon waves back weakly, not knowing what to do now that he has no excuse to refuse the ride with Yifan.

“Let’s go,” Yifan tells him, and the subtle smile on Yifan’s face makes Junmyeon feel unsettled. And yet, the butterflies in his stomach are merely flapping their wings gently. This feels so unreal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay, suddenly getting swamped with work and the holidays has made writing and editing difficult! Chapter 4 is coming soon!


	4. 4회

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The relationship(s) blossom(s).

Yifan’s car is extremely clean and tidy. It’s not like he didn’t expect an organized car from an organized man, but the whole car looks brand new. It smells fresh but not overbearing and the only clutter is a little change near the cup holder. He wonders how many girls besides Tiffany have ridden in this car, how many of them noticed how clean it was and how handsome Yifan looked while driving.

“Hey,” Yifan’s voice breaks the silence, “what do you want to eat?”

“Eh?” Junmyeon perks up in his seat. “I thought we were going straight back to the dorm?”

“We should eat first,” Yifan replies, eyes firmly on the road. Junmyeon is silent for a moment, thinking about what Yifan could possibly be gaining from this.

Junmyeon may seem like he has been spacing out, but his mind is busy arranging sentences. “Why…though?” he finally asks, his voice timid and slow.

“Hmm?” Yifan responds briefly as he looks left and right, making sure that the road is clear before he takes a right turn. Junmyeon is momentarily distracted by Yifan’s very attractive side profile (that strong jaw especially), but he somehow meets Yifan’s eyes in the process of admiring his face. Junmyeon shifts his gaze out the window, missing the small smile on Yifan’s face.

Junmyeon feels the heat creeping up his face; he is sure Yifan will notice his flush if he keeps his head forward. Remembering that he still has an unanswered question, Junmyeon clears his throat in embarrassment. “Why—” Junmyeon still feels the heat on his face so he touches it. As expected, he's hot. Junmyeon takes a deep breath and tries to keep his voice steady.

“Why…drive me home, why bring me to dinner? It feels so…out of the blue…” Junmyeon finally finishes his question. He’s genuinely confused, it feels so familiar. He remembers agreeing to start over last night but he didn’t think the slate would be this clean.

Junmyeon notices the way Yifan clears his throat. “You helped me last night. I want to pay you back. What, you don’t like it?” Yifan asks, still staring straight ahead at the road before them.

“Ah…” Junmyeon hesitates but internally he’s praising God.

“So? What do you want to eat?” Yifan asks again.

Junmyeon’s eyes go wide. “I have to choose? Aren’t you buying? You should choose, right?”

“Yes,” Yifan drawls, “but I’m the _hyung_ and you’re the _dongsaeng_ so I have to take care of the younger one.” He makes it sound so normal, but no _hyungs_ have ever been so generous. Junmyeon is still somewhat confused.

“You make it sound like I’m some kind of baby animal that needs to be cared for,” Junmyeon mutters.

“Well, you’re not too far off,” Yifan comments casually. “You know you remind me of a little bunny, right?”

“A bunny…” Junmyeon deadpans. It is true that heard the same thing from Nayeon this afternoon, but when he hears that coming from a very tall person, he can’t help but to feel undermined.

“You’re always jumpy,” Yifan comments nonchalantly.

Junmyeon looks at Yifan with a questioning frown. “When have you seen me being jumpy?” Junmyeon demands. Yifan turns the blinker on the left not even for a second then slides left, and Junmyeon could swear Yifan bites his lip.

“You still haven’t decided where to eat,” Yifan reminds Junmyeon, and Junmyeon figures he’d better just accept the abrupt change in subject.

“I’m fine with anything, then,” Junmyeon responds.

Yifan mutters “if you say so” right as his phone starts to ring. Yifan glances at it, but rejects the call quickly and turns back to the road. Junmyeon wonders to himself about the caller since there’s no name on the screen; only the number.

The screen dims for a moment before it lights up again and the ringtone plays a second time. From the way Yifan remains reactionless, Junmyeon deduces that he doesn’t want to pick up the call. Maybe it’s a spam number or voice phishing scam, Junmyeon thinks.

The phone rings a third time. Junmyeon glances at Yifan; still no reaction. Yifan’s face remains expressionless throughout the loud ringing. By now, Junmyeon is the one getting annoyed. “Are you really going to just let the phone ring?”

“I’m driving,” Yifan says, nonchalance in his tone.

“Put it on silent then,” Junmyeon suggests; that shrill ringtone is starting to bore a hole in his head. He is hungry and angry and the ringtone only serves to intensify his anger. He mumbles about the call might have been an emergency as he looks out the window.

“Pick it up if you want,” says Yifan, and this time there is a hint of provocation at the end of his sentence. Junmyeon is about to refuse, since besides, it’s not even his phone, but Yifan is smirking. Junmyeon takes it as a challenge.

“Okay, fine,” Junmyeon replies, hand already reaching out for the phone that is still ringing. Junmyeon slides the bar to the right and puts it up to his ear, ignoring the brief look of alarm on Yifan’s face.

“Oh, _oppa_ , you answered,” comes a girl’s voice. She sounds hoarse, almost, as if she’s trying to sound sultry. “What are you doing right now?”

“Uh…” Junmyeon begins, but he’s cut off.

“Why didn’t you answer my call just now? Are you busy?”

“No, but…”

“ _Oppa_ , if you’re busy, you must be stressed,” she says in the gooiest voice Junmyeon has ever heard. “If you want, I can come over and...help you relieve some stress...I’m quite good at it…” She sounds so painfully suggestive and Junmyeon’s blood is starting to boil. This girl is shameless, but she must think that Yifan will be receptive to her advances if she’s trying this hard. Maybe Yifan has accepted her before…

“Sorry, Yifan- _sunbae_ isn’t interested, so please stop calling,” he says in the heat of the moment, and the girl’s voice changes from smooth and sexy to shrill and harsh.

“Who the fuck is this? Give the phone to Wu Yifan right now! Who are you? Fuck you, you dumbass piece of shit, who the fuck are you?” she screams into the phone and Junmyeon hangs up before she can take a breath.

“What was that?” Junmyeon asks, glaring at Yifan. “Why is she like this? How did she even get your number? Do you let girls do this often? It’s—that’s—that’s insane!”

“Shortie—”

“What?” Junmyeon raises his voice. He’s so angry and he knows he has absolutely no right to be but he can’t control his temper right now. He feels cheated somehow, like he expected Yifan to be his at this point, even though he knows it’s irrational.

“Why are you so mad?” Yifan asks, sounding way too unbothered, as if it’s a normal thing for him to get phone calls like this.

Junmyeon scoffs in disbelief. “Guess the Campus Moon is happy with this kind of attention.”

“I never said that I'm happy to receive this kind of attention,” Yifan tries to sound unaffected, but the frown creasing his forehead is visible even from the low lighting in the car. Junmyeon tries to calm down by taking a deep breath.

“You should block her number,” Junmyeon says sternly, frowning as he looks at his feet.

“I did. She changed her number and she called me again,” Yifan replies, and Junmyeon’s pout deepens.

“ _You_ should change your number then,” Junmyeon snaps, and Yifan makes a noise. Junmyeon looks up at him and it’s clear that he’s trying not to laugh. “Why are you laughing? This isn't funny.”

“Really,” Yifan says, grinning outright, “it feels like I have a wife nagging me right now.”

Junmyeon’s jaw drops, and he can only manage to mumble a “whatever” as Yifan smirks.

 

~*~

 

Yifan took them to an Italian restaurant. The menu is extensive, with all sorts of pizzas and pastas and meat dishes that Junmyeon can’t choose between. The waitress is standing next to their table, waiting to take their order, but Junmyeon’s nose is still buried in his menu.

“Still haven’t decided?” Yifan asks, and Junmyeon shakes his head.

“I think I know what I want...um, I’ll have _pappardelle al ragù_...and for my drink, just—” he looks up at the waitress and he realizes that she has not heard a word he’s spoken. She’s staring, smiling at Yifan. Junmyeon rolls his eyes and that’s when Yifan notices too. “Excuse me,” Junmyeon says loudly, waving his hand.

“Ah, yes yes yes?” she says, looking back at Junmyeon finally.

“Water and _pappardelle al ragù_ , please.”

“Hey, there’s a kid meal of _pappardelle al ragù_ too, you could get that,” Yifan teases. Junmyeon glares at him.

“Please order your meal, _ahjusshi_ ,” he replies through gritted teeth. Yifan smirks before turning to the waitress.

“I’ll have a chianti and _tortelli lucchese_ ,” he says, but the waitress doesn’t react, once again lost in Yifan’s handsomeness. Yifan looks away, clearly somewhat embarrassed, before looking back up. Junmyeon sighs loudly, waving the menus at the waitress.

“Oh!” she says, shaking her head. “I’m so sorry, could you please repeat your order?”

Junmyeon beats him to it. “He wants chianti and _tortelli lucchese_.”

“Yes, of course, absolutely, chianti and _tortelli lucchese_ , and _pappardelle al ragù_ , yes, right away,” she says sheepishly, rushing off to the kitchen.

“You’re such a public nuisance,” Junmyeon complains quietly, and Yifan frowns.

“What?”

“Nothing, _sunbaenim_. Just that...my stomach is being a nuisance...I’m hungry,” he smiles his best, most convincing smile, and whether or not it convinces Yifan, he seems to be satisfied and he changes the subject.

“So,” Yifan begins. “Have you decided on what you’re going to do for the talent show portion of the competition?”

“I really don’t know,” Junmyeon sighs. “Chanyeol suggested cosplay but he was just teasing me since I have no talent whatsoever.”

“From the way you dance, I can tell,” Yifan laughs, and Junmyeon glares again. “Really though, you must be good at something.”

Junmyeon thinks hard, thinks back to anything he remembers being good at as a kid. “Ah, I’m not bad at piano,” he finally replies. “I used to take lessons. I’m not _good_ at it but…”

“You can practice,” Yifan says.

“Well...I don’t know where to find a piano,” Junmyeon replies.

“I can help you,” Yifan smirks as the waitress returns with their drinks and a plate of bread with oil. “You’re lucky, they’re preparing a grand piano for the opening ceremony of the show. You’ll be able to use it to perform.”

“Really? Wow!” Junmyeon exclaims, suddenly feeling somewhat motivated. “That’s great!”

“But you need to practice,” Yifan reminds him, and Junmyeon cocks his head.

“You just said you’d help me with that,” Junmyeon states, and Yifan nods matter-of-factly.

“Yes, but I won’t do it for free,” Yifan says, his tone suddenly low. Junmyeon looks at him, waiting to see if he’ll elaborate, but he doesn’t. Junmyeon thinks back to all the dramas he’s watched where “I won’t do it for free” means “I’ll make it hard for you,” but the way Yifan is looking at him makes him think that maybe Yifan does mean well. Junmyeon can’t understand it—what could Junmyeon possibly offer Yifan?

“What do you want then?” he asks, and Yifan looks up, thinking carefully about what he could ask Junmyeon for.

“Hm...how about this: You’ll be my servant until the competition is over.” He smirks at Junmyeon, seemingly expecting him to refuse.

“Servant,” Junmyeon repeats with confusion all over his face. “Like...like helper servant, or like...what?”

“You’ll see,” Yifan replies with a mischievous smile.

“What are you going to make me do, cook for you? Give you a massage?”

Yifan laughs. “No, but thanks for the suggestions; now I’m considering them.”

Junmyeon shakes his head rather cutely as he whines out, “No….I’m bad at those things.” Yifan laughs some more and Junmyeon joins in the giggle fest, and then Junmyeon just realizes that he did _aegyo_ towards Yifan. Junmyeon reminds himself over again not to let himself to get too comfortable so fast. Their laughter naturally dissolves after some time.

“So,” Yifan looks at Junmyeon properly; voice calm. “Are you in?”

Junmyeon bites his lower lip, thinking about how few talents he has besides piano playing, and how much he absolutely needs a piano to practice on. But...if he’s being honest with himself, the idea of being around Yifan more often scares him a little. No, a lot. It is bad enough to have this much emotion concerning Yifan right now; he doesn’t know what more to do if the feeling grows bigger as the distance between them gets nearer. He releases his lip, sighing to himself. Just for two weeks, Junmyeon tells himself. Just until then, and you’ll be fine.

“Okay, I guess,” Junmyeon replies, still uncertain. “But no weird things, okay? My body is precious.”

Yifan shakes his head in amused disbelief as he breaks into another bout of laughter. Junmyeon likes that so much. “You’re so silly,” chuckles Yifan, and for a moment Junmyeon doesn’t mind being called that if he gets to listen to that melodious laugh and to see that precious smile once more.   
  


As if on cue, the waitress brings their food to the table. “So then, can we eat now?” Yifan asks as the plates are set down in front of them.   
  


“As you wish, master,” Junmyeon replies with a teasing tone, but he notices that Yifan is trying to hide a smile, and that makes Junmyeon feel somewhat confident.   
  


 

~*~

 

(They finally arrive back at the dorm late; Yifan notes the way Junmyeon’s eyes start to droop. The elevator dings at their floor; Yifan steps in first and pushes the button to prevent the elevator door from closing on the tired freshman.

Yifan presses the buttons for the fifth and sixth floors. As the door shuts, Yifan starts, “Come to my room tomorrow morning at seven-thirty.” Junmyeon looks up, eyes blinking slowly. Those hooded eyes look straight into his and Yifan’s breath hitches in his throat for a second. Yifan slides his hands into his pants pockets and pinches his own thigh.

  
“Why?” Junmyeon replies, his voice low.

  
Yifan clears his throat for no reason. “I want you to arrange some papers I have,” he says.

  
“Does it have to be tomorrow?” Junmyeon whines and then sighs sleepily. “I have to go to practice before nine.”

Yifan takes out one of his hands from his pocket and rubs the back of his neck, feeling slightly sorry. But a job is a job, and Junmyeon promised Yifan already. “You’ll have enough time to get to practice,” Yifan assures him. The elevator reaches level three. “Anyway,” Yifan’s index finger stays on the ‘open’ button, “you’re my servant now so you can’t complain.”

Junmyeon frowns and whines, but it sounds more like a moan in Yifan’s ears. Yifan pinches his thigh harder; probably enough to bruise.

“Wait,” Yifan stops Junmyeon from stepping out of the elevator. “Do you know my room number?” Yifan asks, to which Junmyeon reacts with a slow shake of his head. “5-22,” Yifan tells him. “Remember. 5-22. 7.30 am. Be on time.”

  
Junmyeon tsks at the reminder. “Alright, master,” he replies, making a show by doing a ninety degree bow towards Yifan before he turns back towards the corridor. Yifan’s finger is still on the ‘open’ button, only releasing when Junmyeon safely enters his room.

Behind the closing door, Yifan slacks against the metal wall and releases a deep sigh. There was a tired, powerless bunny right in front of him just now, and he had so wished he could have wrapped him in his arms. To see Junmyeon so vulnerable, so soft, so lovely...

Yifan rushes to his room, deciding to take a long, cold shower before he sleeps.)

 

~*~

 

When Junmyeon finally arrives back at his room, he plops down on his bed, totally exhausted. He leans his head over the side of his bed, and when he stretches his neck he can see the hidden collage behind the picture frame. It’s weird, seeing it flipped 180 degrees. He feels like his relationship with Yifan suddenly made a pivot today too. Yifan was nice...so nice, in fact, that today’s friendly sunbae-hoobae outing felt almost like a date.

He rolls over to lie on his stomach to see the pictures of Yifan properly. Yifan used to be so far from his reach; Yifan was his Earth, while he was just a piece of dull, uninteresting rock that got pulled in by Yifan’s gravity. Junmyeon was in Yifan’s orbit; always around, never in contact.

But now, somehow Yifan doesn’t feel so far away from him anymore. Somehow, this piece of rock is turning to a meteor, and it baffles Junmyeon to see how fast he is approaching Earth. Near Yifan.

 

~*~

 

Junmyeon’s alarm goes off at five-thirty. He sits up in bed, rubbing his eyes as he contemplates his existence and the dream he had last night. He tries to recall his dream but he only remembers a snippet of himself looking up to the sky to see a full Moon and a sky dappled with pretty little stars scattered around the Moon; one of the stars is so bright and so near to the Moon. He hopes his dream is just that—a dream. He can’t bear the thought of a bright Star being near his Moon.

Junmyeon squints at the bright red numbers on his digital clock. It’s so early, but he needs to shower and get dressed and look somewhat nice before he goes down to Yifan’s room.

He lets his legs dangle off his bed for a moment before finally getting up and heading to the bathroom. Hopefully a shower wakes him up. He turns on the water, _hot hot hot_ , and sheds his pajamas. It’ll be weird to see Yifan in his own room, Junmyeon thinks as he gets into the shower. Junmyeon wonders if he has decorations on his walls, or maybe a big desktop computer for doing whatever doctors do on the computer. Maybe he has a coffee machine...maybe he’ll make coffee for Junmyeon…

Junmyeon figures that’s way too much to ask as he scrubs his hair. It’ll be a miracle if Yifan doesn’t scoff at him.

When he’s finished in the shower, his skin moisturized, his hair combed, he looks back at his clock. Amazingly, it’s only six. He gleefully realizes he can sleep for at least another hour and he wastes no time in plopping back down in his bed for a bit of extra beauty sleep.

The next thing he notices is the sun streaming in through his window. He doesn’t quite register what that means for a few seconds.

“Fuck!” he bolts up, looking at his clock. It’s 7:35. “Shit shit shit,” he mutters to himself, putting on his glasses and his slippers and running out the door. He hopes that being late doesn’t ruin his chance to be treated kindly by Yifan.

He runs down the stairs, checking his breath, and before he knows it, he’s standing outside Yifan’s room. _I can do this,_ he breathes, and he knocks.

The door opens and Yifan is standing there, looking radiant as usual. He looks freshly showered and he smells clean and Junmyeon wishes he could just melt into him.

Instead, he says hello.

“Come in, then,” Yifan says, leading Junmyeon into his room. Yifan’s room is just as clean and tidy as his car, and the decor is minimal. It seems like he only added the necessities and everything else is just as the room came. “The papers are there. I need you to separate the papers for the freshmen from the papers for the sophomores. And put them in packets.”

“Okay,” Junmyeon replies, sitting down on the ground next to the papers. He starts looking at them, checking to see which are for the freshmen and which are for the sophomores. But the papers are boring, monochromatic things full of diagrams and words Junmyeon can’t grasp...so naturally, his eyes wander, searching for something more visually attractive, and of course, that turns out to be none other than Yifan.

And so he does exactly that—he looks at his crush.

Yifan is standing in front of the wall mirror, handsomely drying his hair with a towel, looking so damn good even though he’s just wearing a white t-shirt. Yifan then throws the wet towel over the chair near him, then turns on the hairdryer. Junmyeon licks his drying lips as he watches Yifan’s long fingers run through his wet locks, letting the hot air dry his hair. Junmyeon can only stare as the star of his dreams acts out a scene that he only dared to imagine before now. But Junmyeon shakes off that rather racy thought and tries to focus on the papers, but he just keeps looking back at Yifan. It’s hard to believe he went from pining for him from afar to being in the same room as him first thing in the morning.

Yifan looks over and Junmyeon knows he’s been caught staring like a deer caught in the headlights. “Are you trying to figure out the secret to my handsomeness? I can tell you,” Yifan comments, and Junmyeon wants to reply sarcastically but he’s actually kind of curious. “Step one: you have to be born handsome.”

Junmyeon rolls his eyes and turns back to the papers, pretending as if he was never caught lusting over his object of affection.

Junmyeon continues his assigned task when he hears Yifan comment, “Let me see.” The smell of Yifan’s fresh cologne envelops Junmyeon when Yifan bends down to look at Junmyeon’s work. Yifan flips through the arranged pages; the slight fanning causing the scent of the cologne to spread further out, and Junmyeon is consumed by the fragrance.

There is a hint of a smile on Yifan’s face, Junmyeon notices, and a very brief moment of eye contact before Yifan rises from the floor and goes to the mirror to continue styling his hair.

“What, no ‘good job?’” Junmyeon mutters, his hands returning to their task of layering the note papers in correct order. He would be glad to stare at Yifan teasing his already perfect hair but he has been staring a lot already. Being labeled a creep is the last thing Junmyeon wants.

“Oh, so you want a compliment from sorting out a couple papers, Shortie? That’s a bit too greedy.” If it’s possible to hear a smirk, Junmyeon can unmistakably hear it coming from Yifan.

Junmyeon grumbles some more under his breath, his lips now forming a full pout. The papers are getting more creased from the way his fingers pinch them. Junmyeon is being a brat, he knows it; but he is here doing this job rather than rolling in his bed, so that is already something. But then he remembers that he is the one who owes Yifan a favour here, so he apologizes to the wrinkled sheets of paper by rubbing his palms across the creases.

By the time 8:30 rolls around, Yifan gets up from his chair and speaks. “You can stop now.” Junmyeon looks up from the unsorted papers to face Yifan, who already has his keys dangling in his hand. Junmyeon gathers the papers that have yet to be sorted when he hears, “Can you be ready in five?”

“Why?” Junmyeon asks. He is, in a sense, 'ready,' but for what, exactly? 

“I’ll drive you to your rehearsal.”

“Doesn’t your class start at nine?” Junmyeon asks, though grateful for the offer. “You still want to drive me?”  
  
Yifan nods. “We’ll have time if you get ready as fast as possible. I’ll see you downstairs.”

Junmyeon wastes no time in leaving the room, although he does so as nonchalantly as he can. Once Yifan’s door closes, the facade of apathy is gone and Junmyeon scampers up the stairs as fast as he can go. What luck! He gets to ride with Yifan twice in less than two days! He can’t believe how much their relationship has progressed, from practical enemies to almost...friends? Right? He giddily reaches his room, changing his shirt and grabbing a new pair of shoes to wear for dance practice. He also grabs the bunny clip Nayeon lent him, just in case he needs it again. And then in five minutes he’s back out the door, running down the six flights of stairs to the parking lot.

When he reaches the ground floor, he notices Yifan’s parked car just in front of the dorm. Junmyeon walks towards the main door, but before he even reaches the entrance, he sees something that breaks his heart, again. The driver’s seat is occupied by Yifan. The passenger seat—the place where Junmyeon is supposed to sit—is also occupied. By Tiffany.  
  
Junmyeon looks forlornly at the two of them, busy conversing in the car. Tiffany’s hand is now on Yifan’s shoulder.

How could he have been so stupid, again? It’s like he never learns. Sure, he can have a decent relationship with Yifan, but girls like Tiffany will always, always come first in Yifan’s life.

Junmyeon glances at the big clock hanging over the entrance. His five minutes is up, and honestly he doesn’t want to be in the same space with the juniors. So Junmyeon paces towards the car, gripping the bag strap harder than usual.

Yifan rolls down the window when Junmyeon stands right next his side of the car. “You’re here,” says Yifan. “Get in.”

Junmyeon shakes his head weakly. “Actually, I have somewhere else to go before practice. I forgot to tell you that just now.”

“I’ll drop you off if it’s just along our way,” Yifan adds. Beside him, Tiffany is crossing her arms, looking out the window.

“It’s ok. You should hurry now, your class is starting.”

Yifan glances at Tiffany before turning back to Junmyeon. “Next time, yeah?” asks Yifan. Junmyeon replies with a less sincere smile, and it stays on his face until the car drives off and disappears from his line of sight.

Junmyeon laments his stupid decision to keep this secret from his best friend. If Chanyeol were here right now, Junmyeon would at least have a place to pour his heart out. But no, he let his pride get in the way, and now he has to deal with it all alone.  
  


~*~

 

(“Where’s Yifan?” Yixing asks later that morning, and Minseok shrugs.

“Must be at the Moons and Stars practice,” he replies.

“But our lunch break is only thirty minutes...the practice hall is really far to go in that amount of time, isn’t it?”

“Dude, I don’t know either, okay?” Minseok replies, popping a honey butter chip into his mouth. Yixing nods as Tiffany approaches them.

“Can I join you guys?” she asks, and they both nod, allowing her to sit at their table. “I want to ask you guys something.”

“What about?” Minseok continues to eat.

“Is Yifan close with the Moon from the Science Faculty?” she asks, and Minseok nearly chokes before exchanging a glance with Yixing.

“Um, probably,” Yixing quickly responds. “He’s one of our _hoobaes_ from high school.”

Tiffany pauses for a moment, looking deep in thought. “There’s nothing...going on between them...right?”

Minseok shakes his head, the fork in his hand follows too. “No no no, nothing like that. He’s a _hoobae_ we haven’t seen in a long time; Yifan’s just taking care of him as a good _sunbae_ and Campus Moon, of course.”

“That’s all?” Tiffany persists.

“Seems like it,” Minseok responds, glancing at Yixing again. “Though maybe you should ask Yifan about it, since we don’t really know too much.”

“Hm,” Tiffany nods, thankfully thinking hard enough that she doesn’t notice Minseok making wide eyes at Yixing.)

 

~*~

 

Junmyeon had made a lot of mistakes during practice. He couldn’t focus during the dance, and when they partnered up to practice the runway walk, he had bumped into Nayeon multiple times before the staff had just let the next group go in exasperation.

He’s relieved when lunchtime comes around, because it gives him a break from having to actually do things while being so distracted, and to also lift this heavy secret off his chest.

Junmyeon finds Chanyeol talking animatedly with the other Moons, and grabs his best friend’s elbow to get his attention. Chanyeol ignores him at first because he is still talking, but Junmyeon keeps on shaking Chanyeol’s elbow, begging for attention.

Chanyeol turns away from the group and finally focuses on Junmyeon. “What is it?”

Junmyeon grabs the hem of his shirt; a habit he always does when he is nervous. “I have something important to te—”

“Hi guys!” someone cuts in, and suddenly there’s an arm draping over Junmyeon’s shoulder. Junmyeon jumps in surprise only to see Taekwoon standing right beside him.

“Hi, _hyung_ ,” Chanyeol greets the former Moon with a big smile.

“It’s lunchtime,” Taekwoon points out the obvious. Junmyeon notes the way Chanyeol glances at Taekwoon’s hand that is still resting on Junmyeon’s shoulder.

“And I’m here to take you,” Taekwoon looks straight at Junmyeon, “out for lunch.”

Junmyeon points to himself in disbelief. “Me?”

“ _Heol_ ,” Chanyeol comments, “ _hyung_ just dropped a big bomb.”

Taekwoon smiles at the comment, hand no longer on Junmyeon’s shoulder, and Junmyeon finds himself once again able to breathe easy. “You too, Chanyeol. Did you think I wouldn’t invite you?”

Chanyeol replies with his signature full-teeth grin.

“Before that, I have to something to do. Give me just five minutes. Then we can go for lunch, okay?” Taekwoon tells them before he disappears into the practice room.

“For some reason I feel awkward around him,” Junmyeon comments offhandedly. It’s not a big deal, he just feels like they suddenly became close and Junmyeon didn’t realize it was happening.

“Yeah he’s a bit…direct. But he’s a nice guy. And he likes you very much. Hey,” Chanyeol adds, “should I leave you two alone?”

“What? Why?” Junmyeon whines. “You know how I feel about him and you want me to go alone?”

“Yes I know but he...he’s...decent at least? Why don’t you give it a try? And you don’t have anyone you like at the moment, right?”

Junmyeon wants to lie but the words don’t come out of his mouth; his wavering pupils and stuttering voice answer for him. Chanyeol notices all the signs, and then he looks at Junmyeon in disbelief.

“You do have someone you like...” Chanyeol’s voice goes low. Monotone. Junmyeon catches some hint of disappointment and it makes him to hang his head low in shame. “...but you haven’t told me,” Chanyeol says in a quiet voice that sounds almost accusatory. Junmyeon grabs his best friend’s hand and looks up, the first syllable of Chanyeol’s name is already at the tip of his tongue, trying to apologize when Chanyeol cuts him off. “I get it. You can keep it to yourself, you don’t have to tell me.”

Junmyeon has never heard that steely, icy tone before. Of course he had seen Chanyeol angry a few times before. But not like _this_. Chanyeol is always warm, always the fluffy burly pillow that catches Junmyeon whenever Junmyeon is down. Chanyeol told Junmyeon everything, from his first wet dream to his latest crush. And they promised to be each other's’ support and not keep any concern to themselves.

And Junmyeon broke the promise.

The grip on Chanyeol’s hand loosens itself.

“Hyung,” Chanyeol calls Taekwoon who is making his way towards them, “I have something else to do actually. You can just go with him.”

“Oh. Are you sure?” Taekwoon asks.

Chanyeol doesn’t look at Junmyeon when he says in a slow, deliberate tone, “Yeah, I’m quite sure.”

Chanyeol bids Taekwoon goodbye and spares just a glance at Junmyeon before leaving. Junmyeon looks over his shoulder, hoping Chanyeol would look back at him. If only Junmyeon could turn back time, he would. He’d spare himself this discomfort and shame if he had just told everything to his best friend, but now not only is he hurting from his one-sided love, he’s now also sorry for disappointing his best friend.

Taekwoon puts an affectionate hand over Junmyeon’s shoulder again, diverting his attention. “Let’s go.”

 

~*~

 

(Yifan rushes up the stairs, one hand on the rail, the other holding banana milk, using all his breath to get to Junmyeon sooner. His lunchtime is only thirty minutes and he already spent ten minutes getting here. He even risked his car getting clamped for parking in the non-designated area. It doesn’t matter as long as he gets to talk to Junmyeon.

_Just a few seconds,_ Yifan tells himself. _Just a few more until I can see his face._

And that is exactly what he gets, and more.

Yifan can only watch while Junmyeon is now is on the arm of another man.

Yifan feels more than sad. He feels deflated and defeated, somehow. He feels like a losing piece on a chessboard. No matter which moves he takes, there’s always obstacles to keep him from making his way towards Junmyeon.

They both now head towards the stairs. The hand that was on Junmyeon’s shoulder now moves to the waist. Yifan’s heart breaks a little more.)

 

~*~

 

(“I knew he’d be late but I didn’t think it would be this severe,” Minseok whispers to Yixing. “Professor ‘Dragon’ is about to start class...he’ll be in big trouble if he’s not here on time.”

“He’ll be here soon,” Yixing assures his friend.

Unfortunately, the professor arrives first, and she promptly has them take out their textbooks and the lecture notes on the respiratory system.

Yifan then walks in, breathless. The professor looks up, frowning disapprovingly. “Wu Yifan, what a pleasant surprise, welcome,” she says in a droning, clearly sarcastic and annoyed voice. Yifan hangs his head in shame. “You do remember the rules of my class, right?”

“Yes, professor.”

“So then I’m sure you have a very legitimate excuse for being late, since all your classmates and I managed to be on time.”

“No, professor,” he says, still looking down. “It was my own fault. I’m sorry, I don’t have an excuse.”

“At least you acknowledge that it was your fault,” she sighs, as if Yifan is a lost cause. “I’ll give you a pardon this time, but if it happens again, it could be a patient dying on a table and not a professor trying to give a lecture.”

“I understand, professor,” Yifan says, and she waves him to his seat next to Yixing and Minseok. He sits down, annoyed with himself for causing himself to be scolded.

“So? What happened?” Minseok whispers.

“Nothing much,” Yifan replies, staring at the dimming lights and the projector turning on to start the slide deck.

“What about Junmyeon?” Minseok asks.

“Went out for lunch with Taekwoon,” Yifan replies simply, clicking his pen incessantly. Minseok glances over at Yixing as they exchange looks of concern.

He keeps twisting his pen, making the tip of the pen go in and out. Yifan hates the feeling that he’s losing to Taekwoon in the battle for Junmyeon’s heart, but that doesn’t mean he should give up just yet. And to win this game, Yifan must use all his resources to secure his place.

Yifan sends a text message to someone who could be very useful to him. “Uncle, are there any free sessions for piano practice?”

“Yes,” comes the reply, “when do you need to come?”)

 

~*~

 

Junmyeon: Chanyeol-ah

Junmyeon taps ‘send’ and waits for Chanyeol to pick up his phone. This is the furthest away he has been from Chanyeol; him in one corner, Chanyeol with the other boisterous Moons in the other corner. Chanyeol usually keeps his phone in right jacket pocket and Junmyeon keeps looking for any sign that Chanyeol is reaching for his phone.

Junmyeon: I wanted to tell you

Chanyeol fishes his phone out from his pocket. He glances over his shoulder towards Junmyeon, then puts his phone back into his pocket after some time.

Chanyeol: You don’t have to

Nayeon is talking about something related to their outdoor shooting beside him, but Junmyeon can’t seem to spare any attention towards her. Chanyeol’s answer is too impersonal.

Junmyeon: But I want to….

The choreographer is now calling them over to resume practice. Junmyeon hopes Chanyeol reads it sooner.

 

~*~

 

(After class, the three medical students head back to the practice hall—of course—where they join the other Moons from last year outside.

Taekwoon shows up, greeting them all with a smile. “How long have you guys been here?” he asks as Yifan pointedly looks away.

“We just arrived,” Minseok responds. “Finished our class a little while ago. What’s up?”

Taekwoon sits down next to Minseok on the bench. “Did you guys hear about the trip tomorrow?”

“Trip?” Yixing asks, and Taekwoon nods.

“The kids are going to Gangwon-do tomorrow. They’re doing a photoshoot for the competition.”

“Really?” Minseok breathes incredulously. “Where do they even get the budget to do something like that?”

“Sponsors,” Yifan grunts, and Taekwoon nods.

“Exactly.”

“Don’t they need to practice for the talent portion though?” Yifan wonders.

“Yes,” Taekwoon replies, “but they’ll do it when they return. Apparently they’re shooting promotional clips too, but it shouldn’t take too long.”

Yifan probes more. “Is it a day trip?”

“No, they’ll be staying in a resort nearby for the night,” replies Taekwoon.

Yifan gives a nod of affirmation. He then asks Taekwoon, “Are you going?”

“Yeah,” Taekwoon says.

“Then I’m going too,” Yifan declares with zero hesitation, and Minseok and Yixing suddenly sit up straight.

“Hey, hey, hey, we have a test for the new block in a few days,” Yixing reminds him. Yifan shrugs.

“Just bring the notes and study there, then,” he suggests. Yixing and Minseok whisper to each other as Yifan turns to Taekwoon. “We can drive there ourselves. Text me the address and we’ll be there.”

“Sounds good,” Taekwoon replies, getting up. “See you all there, then. I’ll leave first.” He walks away, and as he leaves, Minseok gives Yifan a disapproving glare.

“Hey _boss_ ,” he says in a voice that makes it sound like all of this is a very bad idea, “aren’t you being a little too impulsive?”

“I’d do the same thing if I was in his shoes,” Yixing comments. “Seriously, look at Myeonnie.” He points to where Junmyeon is practicing his dance steps with Nayeon. Sure enough, Junmyeon is smiling as he learns the steps, with the bunny hairclip back in his hair. “He’s so cute that I’d date him if Yifan doesn’t want to.”

Minseok shoots Yixing a “nagging mom” look, but Yifan hasn’t heard a word they’ve said, still staring at Junmyeon with adoration in his eyes.)

 

~*~

 

“Okay, five minute break!” announces Kibum, and Junmyeon is glad for it, because his water bottle is completely empty and he’s dying of thirst.

Junmyeon heads out onto the terrace where the water tank is, and he uncaps his water bottle to fill it.

“Hey, Junjun, how’s it going?” comes a voice, and Junmyeon turns to see Minseok, Yixing and...Yifan, who turns his head towards Junmyeon so fast that Junmyeon wouldn't be surprised if he had whiplash.

“It’s going well,” Junmyeon replies, looking at the three of them. “It’s quite hard but I can do it.”

“Heard you guys are going to Gangwon-do for photoshoot,” Yixing says, and Junmyeon nods in affirmation.

“That’s right. Are the _hyungs_ going too?” he asks in a light tone.

“Mm, no, we won’t go,” Minseok replies smoothly. “We have something to do that day.”

Junmyeon hums and nods. “Understandable. Med students must be so busy. That’s a pity though, I wish you guys could come.”

“Say, Junjun. If you could pick just one of us to come with you to Gangwon-do, who would it be?” asks Yixing.

Junmyeon laughs at the hypothetical question. “I can’t just choose one, you guys always come in a set of three!”

“I guess we all have to go then,” Minseok perks up. They are all laughing from the amiable conversation, except for Yifan, who just stays quiet. Junmyeon had thought that Yifan was finally getting along well with him, but it doesn’t seem so anymore.

“For real, though,” Minseok cuts in. “I was kidding. We are all going to Gangwon-do.”

“Really? That’s—that’ll be nice,” he tries to control his expression.

“Yes, we’ll see you there,” Minseok smiles at him.

Finally, Yifan speaks up. “What time will you be done with practice tonight?” he asks, and Junmyeon pauses to think. Kibum- _sunbae_ did tell them that there would be an extra dance practice session to make up for the upcoming trip, and there will also be a briefing for the trip after the dance practice.

“Um...it’ll be late, but I’m not sure exactly what time.”

“Okay. I’ll wait,” Yifan responds, and Junmyeon has to tell himself to be cool, be cool, remember what happened this morning.

“Why?” he finally manages to squeak. “Are you going to give me another task to do?”

Yifan looks at him like he’s making no sense. “I’m hungry,” he explains. “All I had all day was banana milk, that’s it.”

Junmyeon is suddenly concerned. He knows what it’s like not to eat all day and it’s not fun. “You didn’t eat?” He worries before remembering that he can do something about it. “Wait just a second.” He scurries back into the practice hall, locating the Choco Pie that he’d packed in his bag. He had such a big lunch with Taekwoon earlier that he didn’t end up eating it.

He catches a glimpse of Chanyeol, who is looking in his direction for a second but turns away quickly. Junmyeon puffs his cheeks in annoyance.

Junmyeon arrives back at where Yifan and his friends are sitting and he hands him the Choco Pie. “Here,” Junmyeon offers it to him. Yifan looks at it like he doesn’t know what it is. “Eat something. I can’t believe an adult like you can’t even find something to eat on your own.”

Yifan looks up at him, frowning deeply, and suddenly Junmyeon feels embarrassed about being so bold just now. They stare at each other in silence for a moment, but the silence is broken by Chanyeol approaching.

“Hello, hyungs,” he greets politely, but his face is not friendly at all. “The dance teachers have been calling for you,” Chanyeol tells Junmyeon. Junmyeon himself is surprised by the suddenness of Chanyeol’s interruption. Chanyeol has barely spoken to Junmyeon all day and suddenly he is here to call Junmyeon back into the practice room. Chanyeol turns back to the med students. “Is Junmyeon free to go, or do you need him for something?”

Yifan gives Chanyeol a look that Junmyeon can’t read well. Is it shame? Or maybe annoyance?

“...Nope, that’s all,” Minseok finally replies, smiling awkwardly at the two freshmen. “Hwaiting.”

Chanyeol nods in thanks, looking at Minseok as he leads Junmyeon back to the practice room.

“Eat it,” Junmyeon reminds Yifan before he leaves, and Yifan finally nods in acquiescence, watching with an indecipherable gaze as Junmyeon and Chanyeol go.

“Chanyeol-ah,” Junmyeon starts, “I...”

“We have a lot of practicing to do,” Chanyeol gives Junmyeon a stern look and then moves to reunite with his dance partner.

Junmyeon bites his lower lip, making a resolution in his mind. If this matter stays unsolved, Junmyeon doesn’t think he will be able to sleep well tonight.

(“What's up with that guy?” Minseok comes up with a remark. “He looks at us like we want to kidnap Junmyeon away. And they’re _always_ together. Is there something going on between them?”

Yixing only shrugs. Yifan is staring at the Choco Pie on the table with such intensity, he could have stared a hole straight through the Choco Pie _and_ the table.

“That guy is suspicious,” Minseok decides. “I get a bad vibe from him. But he seems oddly familiar. What’s his name again?”

“Chanyeol,” Yifan finally speaks out. “Park Chanyeol. He’s an Engineering kid.” Minseok swears he has heard the name too, but he just can't recall.

“Like Taekwoon,” Yixing adds. Yifan’s eyebrow twitches at the mention of that name. “Seems like our little Myeonnie is quite popular.”

Yifan stays mum at Yixing’s statement, but the frown on his face is enough to reveal how he feels inside.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I PROMISE we're working on this!! Real life is hard to fit in with a long chaptered fic ^^


	5. 5회

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, we're back so quick!! Are you surprised? (Don't get used to it).

“So, kids, for the talent show portion, you’ll need to tell us what you’re talent is going to be by the end of the week. We will work hard to accommodate any props you may need!” Kibum explains to them.

Junmyeon barely hears what he says. The older Moons are outside, raucously trying out different types of drinks one of them had picked up earlier in the evening. But he doesn’t pay attention to them. Obviously, it’s Yifan he’s watching. Yifan looks handsome as ever, sitting on the table and leaning over to talk with the other _hyungs_. He’s wearing a white shirt that fits him just right. But Junmyeon has noticed that Yifan still hasn’t eaten.

Junmyeon sighs, getting up. He walks tentatively to the door to the terrace, getting more and more hesitant with each step. Finally he figures he should just do it, and he goes outside.

“Oh, if it isn’t our cute Science Moon,” drawls one of the older Moons that Junmyeon recognizes as the Agricultural Moon. “Looking for _hyung_? Come, _hyung_ will buy you some dinner.” All the other Moons turn to him, ooh-ing and ahh-ing in the most infuriatingly teasing way. Junmyeon can feel a blush starting to creep up on his cheeks.

“Dream on, Yonghwa. There’s no way Junjun is looking for you,” Lee Jonghyun, the Moon of Education, cuts in. The other Moons jeer at Jonghyun’s gentlemanly facade. Yixing and Minseok only laugh at the Moons’ antics. “So, Junjun, what brings you here?” Jonghyun asks. Junmyeon bites his lower lip nervously when all the guys at the table focus on him.

“Um…Yi-Yifan-hyung.”

“Oooh!” all the other Moons coo and tease, making Junmyeon’s face start to feel even hotter.

Yifan looks oddly proud when Junmyeon calls for him. “What is it?” Yifan asks.

“You still haven’t had dinner, right?”

Yifan hums as an answer. “I’m still very hungry. Thanks for the Choco Pie, though.” (Yonghwa exclaims, “I want Junjun’s Choco Pie too.” Another Moon beside Yonghwa hits his friend for being so mischievous.)

“You can go eat first, since it’ll be a long time until we finish practice,” he explains, and Yifan looks at him with interest.

“Hm...why don’t we do this then,” and suddenly he’s getting up, putting his hands on Junmyeon’s shoulders. Junmyeon’s eyes go wide (Minseok and Yixing’s, too) at the sudden skinship display by Yifan. “Okay, guys,” Yifan announces to his friends, his hand migrating across Junmyeon’s small shoulders. “We’re going to eat.”

“Hey hey hey, kidnapping the freshman!” the Moons tease, but Yifan shrugs them off by telling them Junmyeon is also hungry, and they jeer once more but Yifan has already turned away with Junmyeon securely in his grasp.

Junmyeon is still trying to comprehend the situation when Kibum intercepts them.

“Doctor Wu, where are you taking my kid?”

Kibum’s voice is not exactly what people would describe as ‘delicate’. By now, the freshmen in the practice room always shift their attention towards the direction of his shrill voice. Junmyeon doesn’t dare turn around, afraid to catch the other students’ curious gazes—or worse, Chanyeol’s.

Yifan takes his hand off of Junmyeon’s shoulder and replies to Kibum, “Going to get something to eat; we’re starving. Right, Junjun?”

Junmyeon blinks and nods his head rapidly. The faster they leave, the less embarrassed he’ll be. Yifan smiles at the flustered little bunny.

“My other kids are hungry too. Are you going to take care of Junjun only?” Kibum accuses.

“I’ll get food for them too; no problem.”

Kibum suddenly smiles broadly, which freaks Junmyeon out a lot. “We’ll be very grateful for your generosity, Doctor Wu. Have a good time with your _sunbae_ , Junjun. Come back safely, okay?”

Again, Junmyeon gives a bob of his head as an answer.

“Let’s go,” Yifan says, and Junmyeon follows Yifan’s steps like an obedient puppy.

 

~*~

 

Watching Yifan eat his second bowl of _ramyeon_ so heartily makes Junmyeon pity him a little bit. After all, Yifan did have the option to eat by himself, and Junmyeon never asked Yifan to wait for him. So it’s a bit pitiful to see a grown man eating like he has been lost in the desert for three days. But at the same time, Junmyeon feels a bit pleased, almost, knowing that Yifan suffered this pitiful state just so he could wait for Junmyeon.

Junmyeon is lost in his proud moment when Yifan interrupts his thoughts. “Eat up, they’re waiting for us,” Yifan finally says, and now Junmyeon can’t help but voice the question he’s been thinking about since the afternoon.

“Are you going tomorrow too?” he asks, and Yifan nods.

Yifan hums in affirmation. “Why? You don’t want me to?”

“Well…” Junmyeon realizes he needs to play it cool. “You should go, since you’re Campus Moon. You’ll be able to help the others for once. “

“Oh,” Yifan smirks, finally putting down his chopsticks, “so are you saying I usually don’t help?”

“Exactly,” answers Junmyeon as he helps himself to another piece of _kimbap_ “You’re always just sitting there being handsome.”

Yifan looks at him for a second as a smile grows on his face. “I’m handsome?”

Junmyeon stops eating and instead frowns at Yifan’s vain question. “You’re focusing on that when I clearly just told you you’re useless. It wasn’t a compliment,” he clarifies, but Yifan just looks smug, leaning in casually.

“So? Am I handsome?”

Junmyeon looks anywhere except directly at Yifan, instead looking at the owner of the restaurant. “Auntie, is the food nearly ready?”

“It’s almost done,” she assures him with a smile, and Junmyeon turns back to his _kimbap_.

“You’re avoiding my question,” Yifan reminds him in a low voice.

Junmyeon sighs after a few futile attempts at grabbing the last of the noodles in his bowl. “What was the question?”

“Am. I. Handsome?”

Junmyeon really doesn’t want to give Yifan the satisfaction. “Do you not have a mirror? Can’t you judge for yourself?”

Yifan grins. “I know I’m handsome. I just want to hear you say it. So? Am I handsome?”

 _Why_ , Junmyeon asks himself, _did I even fall in love with this vain person? Does he not even have an ounce of humbleness in himself?_ But to be honest, Yifan having that much self-confidence isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Junmyeon just wishes he could have that level of self-confidence too.

“You’re handsome,” he finally mumbles, and Yifan looks satisfied. “But I’m handsomer,” he adds, and Yifan merely nods along.

“The food is ready,” the auntie finally calls. They get up to get the food, and Junmyeon is left carrying only one bag of packed _kimbap_ while Yifan has the other four. Junmyeon pays the auntie quickly and they go out to Yifan’s car.

“Open the door,” Yifan requests, and Junmyeon reaches for the handle only to discover that the car is, of course, locked.

“I need the key then,” Junmyeon looks at Yifan. Yifan looks like he’s thinking about where the key is for a moment, but then he sighs deeply.

“It’s in my chest pocket,” Yifan says coolly. “Just grab it, here.” He takes a step closer to Junmyeon, but Junmyeon doesn’t see any chest pocket on the jacket Yifan is wearing. “Inside on my shirt,” Yifan clarifies, and Junmyeon looks at him in disbelief.

Yifan’s jacket is zipped shut. Does he expect Junmyeon to maybe unzip it for him? Somehow Junmyeon’s imagined this scenario before, but now that it’s actually happening it feels much more surreal than his imagination ever was.

Junmyeon reaches out tentatively, trying not to show how much his hand is shaking. He grips the zipper pull, glancing at Yifan for some sort of reassurance that this is what Yifan expected to happen.

“Can’t you just let me carry that and you get the key?” Junmyeon finally asks, pulling his hand back.

“What’s wrong?” Yifan asks. “Just take it.”

Junmyeon heaves a deep sigh and he grabs the zipper pull again, unzipping the jacket in one quick pull.

Ah, but the zipper wasn’t the main obstacle, was it? No, now Junmyeon realizes he does, in fact, have to put his hand on Yifan’s chest in order to get the key in his pocket.

“Come on, Shortie, my arms are getting tired,” Yifan says, and Junmyeon swallows thickly as he puts his hand in Yifan’s chest pocket. He can feel Yifan’s body heat through the shirt, but he’s so conscious about how long his hand is hovering there that he grabs the key before he can even take the chance to appreciate what’s happening.

He opens the door for Yifan, sure that his face is burning as they load up the car.

This is too weird.

 

~*~

 

Their practice doesn’t end until after ten o’clock, and Kibum tells them to be back promptly at nine to get on the bus to Gangwon-do. The Moons and Stars all get up to collect their things and go home, and Junmyeon beelines for Chanyeol.

“We have to talk.” Junmyeon holds onto Chanyeol’s wrist, and he is resolved not to let go, now that practice is over. Junmyeon leads his best friend to the side, letting the others pass through the door.

Once they’re secluded from the others, Junmyeon spills everything that he had been bottling inside for all this time. “Look Chanyeol, I’m sorry that I’ve been keeping things from you. I mean, I really wanted to tell you but things have been hard and I didn’t know when I should tell you but—”

“Just go to the point, will you,” Chanyeol sighs. Chanyeol has his hands in both of his pockets, hip cocked as he puts his weight on his right foot. Junmyeon whines a little as he looks down at his feet, intimidated by Chanyeol’s action.

“I…I do have someone that I like…and he—you don’t really like him, so... ” Junmyeon’s voice grows smaller. “It’s...Yifan- _h—hyung_.”

The lack of people in the room amplifies the sound of the deep breath Chanyeol takes. Junmyeon braces himself for the impending scolding he’s bound to get when he hears a rather calm tone. “I thought so.” Junmyeon looks up to see a gentle smile on his best friend’s face. “I had a feeling,” Chanyeol says slowly. “Is that why you didn’t want to tell me? Because you thought I’d be mad about this?”

A pout surfaces on Junmyeon’s face. “You did get mad, though.”

“I guess I did.” Chanyeol rubs his neck. “But it’s not because of your crush. It’s—you always tell me everything, okay? We’re best friends. And now that we are at university, I thought that maybe you didn’t want to keep up a childhood friendship anymore. Maybe it’s silly.”

Junmyeon looks at Chanyeol’s sullen face. Like this, Chanyeol looks like a big puppy, and Junmyeon is going to do whatever it takes to make Chanyeol feel better.

“ _You’re_ silly.” _You’ll always be my best friend._

The smile they share solidifies the fact that yes, it’s all good.

“Come on,” Chanyeol starts to walk and Junmyeon follows suit. “Let’s go back together. You have a lot more to tell me.”

“Uh…about that…” Junmyeon looks down sheepishly. “I’m going back with Yifan- _hyung._ ” Junmyeon cups his blushing face when he hears a loud guffaw coming from his best friend. They are about to reach the front door and Junmyeon faintly hears some other voices talking outside the room. Junmyeon pinches Chanyeol’s arm in an attempt to make his best friend shut up. Chanyeol, of course, makes it worse by shouting loudly in mock pain.

When they get past the door, Junmyeon can see only a few people sitting on the benches. Junmyeon searches for someone and recognizes that tall, lean figure in a heartbeat. “There he is,” Chanyeol utters with a smile, and Junmyeon doesn’t think twice before he replies with a ‘yeah.’ “Seriously Junmyeon- _ah_ ,” Chanyeol leans down to whisper, “you need to tell me _everything_.” Chanyeol purposely emphasizes the last word, lifting his eyebrow suggestively as he does so.  
  
“I will, okay?” Junmyeon whisper-shouts. “We have a lot of time to talk tomorrow.”

Chanyeol hums and nods, but still has that shit-eating grin on his stupid face which then turns into a pure, sincere smile. Sometimes Junmyeon wonders if Chanyeol ever has muscle fatigue for smiling that wide but nevertheless, Junmyeon is glad that he doesn’t have to keep this secret from Chanyeol anymore. His heart is no longer as heavy, and it shows in the spring in his step and the swing of his arms.

Yixing notices them first and greets them with a cheerful wave. Junmyeon feels quite sheepish for not greeting the _hyung_ s first.

“You’re out late,” Yifan comments. “All the other Moons and Stars went back already. I thought I missed you.” He doesn’t sound harsh, but Junmyeon can clearly catch the worry in his tone.

“We had something to discuss just now, right?” says Chanyeol, taking the hit for his best friend. Junmyeon is hardly surprised anymore when he feels Chanyeol’s arm on his shoulder. All day his shoulders had been ambushed by these giants, and it’s not his fault that his shoulders are at the perfect level for them to perch on.

“I guess it’s time to go back. Have to pack for tomorrow,” adds Chanyeol. “Yifan- _hyung_ is going to send Junjun back, right?” Yifan merely nods. “Okay then, goodnight,” Chanyeol nods, his gaze lingering on Yixing and Minseok as he leaves.

Minseok tries to keep a straight face but once Chanyeol is out of sight, Minseok turns to Junmyeon. “Hey, Junjun,” he wonders aloud, “is that guy your boyfriend? He is way too protective of you.”

Junmyeon gives an incredulous laugh. “He’s like, my brother, so no, he’s not my boyfriend. We’re just friends.”

“Are you sure? Maybe you’re the only one who thinks you’re just friends,” Minseok wonders, and Junmyeon shakes his head.

“Everyone misunderstands, but really, it’s not like that.” He assures Minseok. Yifan clears his throat.

“Can we go home now?” he asks, sounding annoyed. He starts walking towards the parking lot, and Junmyeon looks over. He quickly says goodbye to Yixing and Minseok and he scampers after Yifan.

(“That Park Chanyeol is weird,” Yixing comments. “Don’t you think he likes Junmyeon too?”

Minseok pauses for a long time, thinking. “He might...but I’m not sure. I hope not. I’ll look into it a bit more.”

“And how do you plan to do that?” Yixing asks.

“I’ll come up with a plan. You can trust Detective Kim.”)

 

~*~

 

The car ride is nearly silent, Yifan exuding annoyance, somehow. It’s so awkward that Junmyeon feels like a text message from Chanyeol is a blessing.

 

Chanyeol: Make sure you go back to your own room after you have arrived, ok?

Don’t follow him into his room lololol 

Junmyeon: Excuse me i ain’t easy 

 Chanyeol: Just in case :P

A virgin ass like you must be thirsty 

Junmyeon: Don’t virgin shame me

By the way

What’s with the possessive act

Now _hyungs_ think that we are dating or something 

Chanyeol: Not to be that guy but ew 

Junmyeon: ok rude 

Chanyeol: kkkkkkk 

Junmyeon: You came out too strong

Were you aiming for Best Actor Award or something? 

Chanyeol: It’s not too late to change course now, right? Kkkkkkk

 

Junmyeon sends a barrage of silly stickers to Chanyeol, laughing as he does so. The absurdity of the situation makes Junmyeon giggle—he can’t imagine ever dating Chanyeol but it’s so funny that so many people think it’s possible.

“Wonder what makes you so happy…” mutters Yifan.

“Hm? Oh, it’s Chanyeol. He’s just being silly,” Junmyeon giggles again thanks to a meme Chanyeol just sent him.

Shortly after, Junmyeon’s phone pings once more. Junmyeon checks his phone. “Oh? It’s Taekwoon-hyung,” Junmyeon mumbles to himself. Yifan hears, however, and frowns at the mention of another Engineering Moon.

 

Taekwoon- _hyung_ : You did a great job today.

Sleep early, okay? We have a long day tomorrow.

 

Junmyeon replies to that with “Thanks _hyung_. See you tomorrow” and a sticker of an animated bunny winking cutely.

Yifan gives a rather heavy sigh as he slows down his car and stops at the red light. “Popular, I see.”

“Popular? Who?” Junmyeon puts down his phone.

“You, of course.” Yifan taps his finger against the steering wheel, waiting for the traffic light to turn green.

“What are you talking about?”

“Chanyeol, Taekwoon; you seem to be pretty popular with engineering people.”

Junmyeon scoffs at that ridiculous statement. “First of all, I have been friends with Chanyeol even _before_ he was in engineering,” Junmyeon presents his counter-argument confidently. “So your point is already invalid.” Yifan is surprised by the aura of confidence Junmyeon is exuding, but he hides his surprise well enough.

“Second, about Taekwoon- _hyung_ , he—” Junmyeon suddenly recalls Chanyeol informing him that Taekwoon- _hyung_ actually had romantic interest in him. It feels weird now to talk about Taekwoon casually in front of his own crush because of that. “He…he’s just a good _hyung_ ,” Junmyeon cuts his less-than-convincing counter-argument short. “Though, why are you so interested in my business with the engineering people?” Junmyeon turns the question towards Yifan.

Yifan chooses to not answer the question, instead stepping on the accelerator right after the traffic light turns green. Of course, Junmyeon is not going to let it slide; not after Yifan had pressed and pressed Junmyeon to say he was handsome at dinner just now. It’s only fair that Junmyeon gets to push a question too.

“ _Sunbaenim_ , are you being jealous right now?” Junmyeon prods him more, determined to get a reaction from his crush.

Yifan replies with a curt, “Why would I be?” as he slows down his car to drive over a speed bump. If Junmyeon didn’t have any kind of special feeling towards Yifan, he would just laugh it off or even make a joke of it. But that is not the case; Yifan’s blunt reply actually hurts him in more ways than one.

Ah, having a crush is so...crushing. Junmyeon looks out the window, watching the trees and the fallen leaves that line the sidewalk. The trees look like they are moving past him, even though he is the one in a moving car while the trees stay fixed in their place. Junmyeon wonders if that’s how it is with his situation. This ‘progress’ makes him thinks that he's going somewhere, but in the end maybe he’s been staying in one place this whole time.

The only sound in the car is the white noise of the car engine; both of them stay silent for the rest of the drive until they reach their dorm. Finally Yifan breaks the silence.

“What time are you getting up tomorrow?” Yifan asks as he pushes the ignition button to turn off the engine.

“Hmm...eight, I guess, since we have to meet at nine,” Junmyeon unbuckles his seatbelt. “Why? Do you need me for something?”

“Come wake me up,” Yifan says.

“Eh?”

“It’s hard to get up on days I don’t have class,” Yifan explains, though it doesn’t sound convincing enough for Junmyeon... “Wake me up tomorrow.”

“How?” Junmyeon asks, and Yifan sighs, still not looking at Junmyeon.

“There’s this thing called knocking on the door…”

“That’s it? Well, I guess I can,” Junmyeon says, wondering why Yifan doesn’t have an alarm clock. In fact, Yifan has made him question a lot of things today. Maybe it’s the scientist in him that keeps him wondering about things.

Yifan only nods as a response. Thinking that it’s the end of the interaction, Junmyeon readies himself to leave. “I’ll go first, then. Thank you for driving,” Junmyeon says, and he’s about to get out of the car when Yifan speaks up suddenly.

“Hey, wait a sec, Shortie. You know...it’s okay for you to call me _hyung_. It’s quite nice, actually. Why don’t you call me Yifan- _hyung_ from now on?”

Junmyeon feels like his skin is covered in goosebumps. He’s completely shaken. “But...you don’t even call me by my name, you just call me Shortie, Shortie, Shortie.”

“But it’s cute,” Yifan insists, and Junmyeon gives him a look.

“You think ‘Shortie’ is cute? Would you think it was cute if I called you ‘Giant?’ No, of course not.”

“Then I’ll call you Junjun,” Yifan says, and Junmyeon sighs exasperatedly.

“Actually,” Junmyeon starts, “I don’t really like it when people call me that. Why the need to repeat the syllable? Isn’t it easier to just call my given name then?”

Yifan smiles, looking so sultry that Junmyeon is suddenly nervous. “If I call you by your full name,” Yifan asks, “would you call me _hyung_?”

“You know my full name?” Junmyeon raises his eyebrows, surprised.

“Of course…” Yifan says, full of confidence. “Kim. Jun. Myeon.”

Junmyeon has kind of expected that Yifan would know his name by now; surely he must have seen his full name somewhere in the list of the Moons. Yet when his name comes from Yifan’s lips, from the lips of the person Junmyeon always wanted to hear say his name, Junmyeon feels so exposed. It’s like the boy who was always in the shadow of the trees on the sidewalk is suddenly pulled out into the sunlight. Outside the shadows, he feels bare.

“So why don’t I call you…” Yifan leans down, trying to get closer to Junmyeon, who’s paralyzed. Junmyeon then hears the softest voice Junmyeon has ever heard from him. “...Junmyeonnie. Hm? Should we do it like this?”

Junmyeon’s heart is pounding so hard that he feels like his whole body is shaking. “Whatever,” he replies, and as fast as he can, gets out of the car and runs inside, not seeing Yifan smiling at him as he goes.

He runs up the stairs and into his room, and once the door is closed, Junmyeon can’t contain his smiles. He wants to laugh, he’s so pleased with what just happened. He screams in delight, wondering if he’ll be able to sleep tonight because of his excitement.

 

~*~

 

(Yixing and Minseok wait for Yifan by Yixing’s car, watching the freshmen Moons and Stars as well as some older students. The Moons and Stars are taking pictures together as they wait for the others to arrive at the bus.

“It’s fall, but I feel like it’s spring,” says Yixing. Minseok looks at his best friend with a ‘what?’ look when Yixing adds wistfully, “so many beautiful flowers.” Minseok rolls his eyes.

Yixing turns to him, looking interested. “Oh yeah...about that Engineering Moon. Did you start your plan?”

“Not yet,” Minseok shakes his head. “Don’t have time.”

“Oh!” Yixing gasps, and Minseok looks at him like he’s insane. “Wait, does that mean your plan to find out if Chanyeol likes Junmyeon involves using your body?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Minseok deadpans.

“Why not? You have a pretty face. (“Stop it,” Minseok complains.) And a hot body. It could work.”

Minseok grimaces at him. Yixing only gives compliments when he means it, so whenever Yixing gives one to him, Minseok feels awkward. He’s never been good at receiving casual compliments, and even more so when they’re sincere ones. “Ey, do you want to get hit?” He raises his fist just to break the mood but before he can hit Yixing, they both spot Chanyeol running towards the other Moons and Stars, calling out for them to wait so that he can be in the picture too.

“Ah there he is,” Yixing points out. Minseok too, turns his attention towards the freshman.

If he’s being honest, Chanyeol is quite tall. He has a nice body, good skin...his face is admittedly really handsome. He has a nice nose and big eyes and strong eyebrows…He’s gotten much handsomer since high school...back then he was just a lanky and awkward kid, but now...well…

 _Ahh! What am I thinking?_ Minseok catches himself staring off at someone he should not be staring at. _I just have to find out if he likes Junmyeon, that’s all!_

He’s somehow still staring when Chanyeol starts walking towards them, and he’s only broken out of his daydream by Yixing exclaiming that he’s coming over.

“Good morning, _hyungs_ ,” bids Chanyeol after he takes off his sunglasses and hooks them on the collar of his t-shirt (Minseok can’t read what is written on the t-shirt since it is covered by Chanyeol’s black hoodie—but wait, why is Minseok even looking? He quickly throws his gaze somewhere else). Chanyeol gives them a smile that can rival a thousand suns, and Minseok is about to be blinded by how bright Chanyeol’s teeth are.

“ _Danger, danger, he’s a player_ ,” Yixing sings in his native Chinese language under his breath, assessing how dangerously attractive Chanyeol is. Minseok still pretends he is not looking at this tall _hoobae_.

“Junmyeon told me last night that Yifan- _hyung_ is going to bring him here this morning. Are they not here yet?” Chanyeol asks, but his gaze lingers not on Yixing, who is standing in front of him, but rather on Minseok, who is standing there out of obligation but is clearly not paying attention to him. Yixing notices Chanyeol not-so-subtly sizing Minseok up.

Again Yixing sings under his breath, “ _Kitty, kitty, a big tiger is going to catch you_.”

“What was that, hyung?” Chanyeol asks Yixing, to which Yixing replies with “I was saying that they’ll come soon.”

Chanyeol hums in affirmation. He glances at Minseok again; Minseok is still not looking at him.

“I heard something else from Junmyeon too. And it’s kind of making me upset,” Chanyeol throws his bait.

“Oh? What did you hear?” Yixing replies.

“I heard that _hyungs_ don’t remember me even though I was from the same school as you guys.”

Yixing scratches the back of his neck sheepishly, as if he knows it’s a bit silly that he forgot about Chanyeol, while Minseok still resolutely looks away. It’s not like they don’t know who he is _now_ , so why is he complaining?

“Isn’t that too much? Minseok- _hyung_ recognized Junmyeon at once, but didn’t even remember me. I’m so sad,” Chanyeol accompanies his statement with a downward curve of his lips, his eyebrows also drooping. Chanyeol looks exactly like a sad golden retriever; it makes Minseok feels like he just kicked a dog. And Minseok loves dogs.

Yixing nudges Minseok with his shoulder, noiselessly suggesting that Minseok say something to the sad-looking _hoobae_. “N-no wonder your name sounds so familiar, Chanyeol- _ah_.” The apologetic look on Minseok’s face is sincere.  
  
Yixing adds, “You changed so much though, Chanyeol. You have grown so much in just a year; what did you eat to be this tall?”

Chanyeol laughs, “Whatever I consumed, it wasn’t as effective as what Yifan- _hyung_ ate, though.”

Yixing chants, “True, true.”

“You didn’t change much, Yixing- _hyung_. Still as cool as before. I remember seeing you playing at the basketball court with other _hyungs_. ” Yixing is of course flattered at the blatant compliment.

“Minseok- _hyung_ , though,” Minseok perks up at the mention of his name. Chanyeol continues, “You changed a lot. You used to have these very cute full cheeks; what was it that they called you? _Hoppang_? Yes, I think it was _Hoppang_.”

Minseok narrows his eyes at the giant _hoobae_. That nickname was a thing of the past. He wanted to bury it with all those images of him as a chubby kid. He managed to shed off all that weight before university, so for the past year Minseok has been completely free from that rather derogatory nickname. But Chanyeol has just brought it back unannounced, and Minseok is not happy.

“Are you mocking me right now?” Minseok grits his teeth.

“I don’t have that intention but if you take it as such, I apologize for it—” Chanyeol says, and Minseok is about to let this matter go when Chanyeol finally finishes with “— _Hoppang-hyung_.”

Minseok is ready to leap onto Chanyeol when Yixing manages to hold Minseok back. “Chanyeol- _ah_ , it’s better for you to wait for your friend by the bus, or else this angry kitten is going to get you.”

“The fuck did you just say, Zhang Yixing? Did you just—fucking let go of me!”

Chanyeol takes the cue to leave the two medical students to join his fellow Moons and Stars by the bus, but before that, he announces to the duo, “Now you won’t ever forget me, _hyung_!!”

Minseok growls in Yixing’s strong hold. That giant is going to regret this.)

 

~*~

 

(Yifan shows up about a minute before nine o’clock, looking rather fresh.

“You finally arrived,” Yixing says, leaning against his car. Yifan joins him as they watch the freshmen begin to board the bus. “You’re in a good mood. What did you do this morning?”

“Nothing.”

“What were you doing when I called you earlier?” Yixing presses.

“Nothing really...he woke me up, I took a shower while he arranged worksheets. That’s all. Then I came here.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes, Yixing, that’s it,” Yifan insists, and Yixing shrugs. They spot Junmyeon approaching Chanyeol, and Chanyeol helps him put his suitcase in the bus. Yixing looks at Yifan, who’s just staring longingly at his cute little bunny. The two freshmen quickly board the bus, followed by the last of the staff members, and then the bus leaves.

Minseok returns shortly after that, still looking perturbed.

“Did you calm down?” Yixing asks, and Minseok just looks away, tapping his foot.

“What are we waiting for, the bus already left, let’s go.”

“Okay,” Yixing laughs, and the three of them hop into the car Yixing rented, driving off to follow the bus.)

 

~*~

 

(Minseok and Yifan are already falling asleep in the car as Yixing drives to the resort. Kibum had told Yifan last night to go to the resort first, since there would be a briefing and room assignment—and Yifan is not going to let himself miss picking a room. They passed the bus a little while ago and are now well ahead of them, and Minseok and Yifan have quickly run out of things to occupy themselves with. They’re both nodding off when Yifan’s phone rings, and it wakes Yifan up. He groggily answers the phone while Minseok and Yixing listen to what he’s saying.

“Ah, hello?” he asks hoarsely. “Ah, Taekwoon.”

Yixing and Minseok glance at each other in the front of the car. They’d almost forgotten about him as another potential competitor for Junmyeon’s heart.

“Who are you sitting next to?” Yifan asks. “I’m just wondering, no reason. So? What is it?” He pauses for a while, and Minseok looks out the window. The scenery is really beautiful, and he’s nearly back to sleep when Yifan suddenly raises his voice. “What? You want me to turn back? Yes, okay, the rest stop just outside the city. Okay, okay. Yes, got it.” He hangs up and then grabs Yixing’s seat. “We have to turn around,” he says seriously, and Yixing heads towards the next highway exit immediately.

“What happened?” he asks, and Minseok looks back at Yifan.

“Junmyeon got sick!”)

 

~*~

 

(Yixing is sitting at the rest area, watching Yifan pace back and forth as Minseok is inside the convenience store buying snacks. (“Buy a sport drink too, Junmyeon might need that,” Yifan had told Minseok as Minseok had headed towards the store. Minseok had replied with a lazy, “Yes boss.”)

When the bus arrives, Yifan races up to the door, waiting impatiently as the students all disembark for a break. Finally they spot Taekwoon getting off, but instead of continuing towards the convenience store, he looks back.

He’s watching for Junmyeon, who’s being helped off the bus by Chanyeol. Chanyeol is basically holding Junmyeon’s body up so he doesn’t fall, and Junmyeon looks pale and fragile. The staff asks how he’s feeling but he doesn’t respond, and Taekwoon looks at Yifan.

“I gave him some medicine but I think he really just needs to get off the bus. No matter where he sat, he just kept throwing up,” Taekwoon frowns, looking at Junmyeon with concern. Yifan’s heart aches as Junmyeon’s eyes open and close slowly, as if he’s not fully conscious.

Suddenly, Junmyeon runs to the side of the parking lot just in time to throw up again, and Chanyeol and a staff member run after him. It’s heartbreaking to see Junmyeon’s tiny frame shaking and shivering as he empties whatever could possibly be left in his stomach onto the curb.

When he returns to them, he looks worse than before, his hair matted to his forehead and his eyes perpetually half-closed.

“I think it’s better for him to ride in our car,” Yifan says suddenly.

Taekwoon shares a look with Chanyeol. Taekwoon is reluctant, Yifan can tell, but it’s for Junmyeon’s sake. And Yifan knows Taekwoon won’t be so senseless as to make Junmyeon stay in the swaying bus. “Okay, he should go with you,” Taekwoon finally agrees, nodding. Chanyeol guides Junmyeon towards Yifan, who takes his shoulders gingerly.

“Please take care of him, _hyung_ ,” Chanyeol says, and Yifan nods resolutely.

“Come on,” he says to Junmyeon softly, “let’s go.” He helps Junmyeon into the backseat of Yixing’s car, and then follows behind him.

They drive off, and Chanyeol and Taekwoon watch them as they go.)

 

~*~

 

(Yifan watches Junmyeon as they drive. His head is bouncing back and forth, as if his neck can’t hold the weight of his head while Junmyeon is mostly asleep.

“Are...are you feeling okay?” Yifan asks, but Junmyeon doesn’t respond.

“Kinda cute you got carsick, Junjun,” Minseok comments, but again Junmyeon is silent.

“Is my driving okay?” Yixing asks, looking at Junmyeon in the rearview mirror. “Hey, Yifan, make sure he doesn’t throw up in the car.” He passes plastic bags back to Yifan, and Yifan rolls his eyes at them.

Junmyeon’s head is still bobbing around, but this time he gets closer and closer to the window. Minseok turns around, watching him bounce. “Is his head going to hit the window?” he asks.

“He should lie down,” Yixing says. “It would be bad if he hit his head.”

Yifan knows what he needs to do. He knows. But he’s shy for once in his life. Watching Junmyeon in this state of vulnerability is already making Yifan so soft towards him.

“It can’t be helped,” he announces, gingerly putting a hand around Junmyeon’s shoulders, pulling him down so that his head is in Yifan’s lap. He rearranges Junmyeon’s arms so that they don’t fall asleep. Looking at Junmyeon from this angle, Yifan realizes how small Junmyeon is, sleeping on his lap. Such a thin waist, such small shoulders. Sure, Junmyeon has gained some mass compared to his skinny figure back in high school, and is taller than most of the girls now...yet he still looks tiny in Yifan’s eyes.

“Hey, you back there, are you being inappropriate with him?” Yixing asks jokingly, and Yifan frowns at them as Minseok turns too.

“Wow, really taking advantage,” Minseok nods, surveying the position the two of them are in.

“Shh, he’s sleeping,” Yifan scolds them, and Minseok chuckles as he turns back to face forward. Yixing and Minseok both focus back on the road, leaving Yifan to admire Junmyeon’s sleeping face.

He figures it’s fine to drape an arm over Junmyeon’s waist. It’ll hold him in the seat better.

But he keeps his other hand out of Junmyeon’s hair, as much as he wishes he could soothe this sweet sleeping beauty. That would be going too far.)

 

~*~

 

Junmyeon wakes up slowly, and for a moment he thinks he’s in a bed. He’s comfortable and warm, and there’s sun streaming in through the window, dappling his face through his bangs. It takes him a while to feel the soreness in his throat and the terrible taste in the back of his mouth. Then it dawns on him that he had gotten sick on the bus. Now he remembers. He got in the car with Yifan and the _hyungs_.

He doesn’t remember putting his head in Yifan’s lap.

“What happened?” he mumbles.

“It’s okay, you can sleep more,” Yifan says softly.

“It’ll be bad if you get a cramp,” Junmyeon worries.

“I already have a cramp,” says Yifan. Junmyeon starts to sit up, but Yifan grabs his shoulder. “It’s okay.” His voice is so gentle and soft…“You need to sleep more.” He guides Junmyeon back into his lap, and his arm resumes occupying its space on Junmyeon’s waist. Junmyeon has never felt so...intimate with anyone before. “Are you feeling better now?” Yifan asks.

“Um...a bit,” Junmyeon replies.

“I can’t believe this young master,” Yifan says, his voice still gentle. “Getting sick from riding on a bus, but you’re fine with a car.”

“The bus kept swinging back and forth,” Junmyeon complains.

“Then if you’re still feeling sick, you can just keep sleeping,” Yifan assures him.

“I don’t want to trouble you,” Junmyeon insists.

“You’ve already been sleeping for an hour. I’m fine.”

Junmyeon pouts—he never wants to be a burden to anyone. “Sorry.”

“Sorry for what?” Yifan asks, and Junmyeon could swear Yifan’s fingers nearly went into his hair just now.

“For sleeping on your lap,” Junmyeon says quietly. It’s embarrassing that Yixing and Minseok can hear this too. “It’s actually pretty comfy, though.” He smiles, closing his eyes. He doesn’t see Yifan gazing at him with the softest look.

When they finally arrive at the resort, Junmyeon thanks them all quickly and shyly before running off to join the Moons and Stars.

(Yifan watches him run into the building, his expression of longing getting closer and closer to becoming a permanent fixture on his face.)

 

~*~

 

Junmyeon scurries into the meeting room, sitting down on the floor next to Chanyeol as the staff start to make announcements.

“Remember, we’re here for work, not vacation,” Kibum reminds them. “You have a one hour break after we get rooms sorted out, and then we will start. For the rooms, you can pair up. Each pair will have one staff member in their room as well, okay?”

The Moons and Stars pair up, Junmyeon and Chanyeol obviously together. Once everyone has been paired, they hand out room keys and send them on their way for their one hour break.

“So,” Chanyeol says as they pick up their bags to bring to their rooms. “Do you think you’ll be in the same room as _him_?”

“That better not happen,” Junmyeon widens his eyes. “It was embarrassing enough in the car; I can’t afford to be with him in the same room.”

Chanyeol copies him and adds a dramatic gasp. “What happened?”

Junmyeon sighs, figuring he’d better tell Chanyeol _everything_. “I’ll tell you in our room.”

 

~*~

 

When Junmyeon finishes his story, he and Chanyeol sit in silence for a brief moment before Chanyeol pipes up. “Damn.”

Junmyeon nods. They are both sitting on the king sized bed in their room now—somehow he and Chanyeol are some of the few that were assigned a suite room with a sofa rather than three single beds like other participants. Junmyeon is leaning on the headboard while Chanyeol is sitting cross-legged on the mattress.

“Is this really the same Yifan from back in high school?”

Junmyeon nods again. “I know, it’s unbelievable.”

“Tell me about it,” Chanyeol scoffs. “It’s like he’s a whole different person. What made him change so much? But then again, we didn’t know him that well back then. So…it’s a good thing, I guess?”

To that question, Junmyeon stops nodding his head and then shrugs his shoulders. He really doesn’t know how to feel about everything that’s happening.

“So, what’s your plan for now?” Chanyeol asks.

Junmyeon frowns. “Plan?”

Chanyeol snickers. “You have been crushing on him for so long and now that he is right in front of you, you don’t have any plans to get him? Come on, bro.”

Junmyeon takes a pillow and plays with it. “I don’t know...” he pouts. He hears a sigh coming from his best friend, and he knows at that moment he is being pitiful. Junmyeon hugs the pillow and buries his face into it. He then feels a nudge at his calf. And then another nudge. Junmyeon groans into the pillow.

“Let’s go out for a walk,” says Chanyeol.

Junmyeon peeks at his best friend. “My stomach still feels weird, to be honest. I think I want to rest first.”

“I just knew you’d get sick,” Chanyeol chuckles at Junmyeon. “You always got sick every time we took a bus in high school.”  
  
“I know,” Junmyeon pouts at him. “I bet everyone thinks I’m pathetic.”

“Kind of,” Chanyeol replies, earning a weak punch on his arm. Then his expression turns dreamy. “To think that you already slept on his lap…tsk tsk tsk. Maybe next time he’ll let your face near his di—” Junmyeon swings a pillow towards Chanyeol, not letting him finish the sentence.

“You pervert!” Junmyeon swings again even though he knows Chanyeol will be able to block most of the hits. “Is that the only thing you think about?”

Chanyeol laughs and laughs at Junmyeon’s rage. “Don’t tell me you don’t think about that!” Junmyeon stops hitting for a moment, and when Chanyeol mentions about his reddening face, Junmyeon launches another pillow attack.

This time however, Chanyeol manages to foil the attack by grabbing the pillow and then uses his long arms to pin Junmyeon down on the mattress. Junmyeon groans, then claims that it is unfair to wrestle a sick person, but Chanyeol only laughs.

They didn’t hear the door being opened, but they do hear a rather loud “ahem.”

They see Yifan standing in the entryway, and they both stop their antics when they notice his disapproving glare.

“ _Sunbae_ ,” Junmyeon says while catching his breath, “why are you here?”

“I’ll be sleeping here with you guys. Didn’t they tell you that each room needs a facilitator?”

“Okay…but…there’s three of us but only one bed,” Chanyeol says, looking around the room, and Yifan does the same.

“No problem, I’ll just sleep on the sofa and you two sleep on the bed,” announces Junmyeon.

Chanyeol protests. “You said you’re still sick and you want to sleep on the sofa? Of course not.”

“Well, there’s only one way. Rock paper scissors; whoever wins will sleep on the bed. Fair and square,” Yifan suggests.

And that’s how Yifan ends up getting the sofa. Without a word, Yifan sets his things down. “Remember to get to the meeting on time.” Yifan’s walks across the room in four long strides, and he’s out the door in another.

Chanyeol spins around to face Junmyeon. “I think Lady Luck is either on your side or against you.”

“She’s definitely against me,” Junmyeon sighs, then he groans. “Why did he have to see us like that…”

“Hey, it’s not our fault he walked in on us. We didn’t even know he was going to be here. Also, if he got jealous, isn’t that a good sign?”

Junmyeon looks at his best friend with concern obvious on his face.

“It’ll be fine,” Chanyeol reassures him. “Just rest. We have to film those stupid promo clips later and you need to be awake for that. If you don’t look good, you’ll lose to me, and you’ll bring shame to the Science Faculty, so sleep.”

“Okay, okay,” Junmyeon acquiesces, laying back down in the bed. “Wake me up when it’s time to go, then.”

“Will do,” Chanyeol replies, leaving the room so Junmyeon can finally rest in a bed.

 

~*~

 

“Wake up.”

It can’t be time yet, Junmyeon was having such a nice dream...

“Wake up already.”

That voice is so soft and gentle, but not like Chanyeol’s...

“Shortie…wake up.”

Ah, it’s Yifan...

“...Junmyeon-ah…”

 _Oh my god, it’s Yifan!_ Junmyeon’s eyes fly open in panic and Yifan is right above him. Yifan pulls away and Junmyeon sits up in the bed, staring at him.

“You look like you saw a ghost,” Yifan laughs.

“I just saw _you_ ,” Junmyeon retaliates.

Yifan clicks his tongue at the cheeky answer. “Should’ve just let you sleep through lunch. You can starve, then.”

“Oho, a doctor wants to let a sick person starve?” Junmyeon teases.

“Then would you rather this doctor check up on you?” Yifan growls as he grabs Junmyeon’s shoulders, and as tough as Junmyeon would love to be right now, he can’t.

“That tickles,” Junmyeon giggles when Yifan tries to keep him still, “my neck is ticklish, let go.”

“Are you going to get up and get lunch then?”

“Yes, I will!” Junmyeon keeps laughing, and Yifan shakes him a little.

“Then get out of bed,” he says, and he releases his grip on Junmyeon’s shoulder.

He turns his back to Junmyeon as he unpacks his bag on the sofa.

 _I wonder…_ Junmyeon muses, admiring Yifan’s broad back. Does he have a ticklish spot too? Chanyeol’s knees are ticklish, but Junmyeon figures that’s more of a Chanyeol thing. _Hm…_ He reaches out, his finger hovering over a spot right by Yifan’s ribs, and then he pokes.

Yifan lets out a yelp as he jumps, flipping around to frown at Junmyeon. “Hey,” he says in a warning voice.

“Ah, so the doctor has a weak spot too,” Junmyeon smirks at him. Yifan rolls his eyes and turns back to unpacking his things. But Junmyeon’s not done being bold yet.

He pokes him again, but this time, Yifan is prepared. He grabs Junmyeon’s hand and pushes him down onto the bed. Suddenly Junmyeon is splayed out, held down by both of Yifan’s hands, and Yifan is staring right into his eyes.

Junmyeon’s heartbeat skyrockets. This is new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love us on social media, @eexiee and @gashinayah


	6. 6회

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our friend Lia (@aguamyeontee) did art for our 100xoverfest entry! Here it is: [LIA'S ART](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/100xoverfestRound2Nov/works/12674313)

Junmyeon’s eyes are closed. His heart is beating a thousand times a minute, still held down on the bed by Yifan’s strong grip.

“Will you give up?” Yifan asks in a low voice. Junmyeon nods, his eyes still held firmly closed. “Then say so.”

Junmyeon makes a noise that he hopes Yifan understands as a yes. He can feel Yifan’s breath on his lips, Yifan is that close to him. The adrenaline rushing through his veins is enough to make him feel electric right now—he’s not sure if he wants Yifan to keep getting closer or if he’d rather have him far, far away. But he can’t open his eyes.

“You’re not going to try it again, right?” Yifan murmurs.

“I really won’t,” Junmyeon squeaks, and Yifan’s breath gets hotter as Junmyeon can feel him getting closer. He could swear their noses touch for the briefest of moments, but then suddenly Yifan is off of him.

Junmyeon is still lying there, spread out on the bed, feeling like he’s just finished a marathon. He opens his eyes. Yifan is standing by the bedside, a hint of amusement at the edge of his lips.

“Get up then,” Yifan snaps once again. “You might be late for your meeting.” He heads towards the door, but turns around before he leaves. “By the way, you don’t look pale anymore. That’s good.” He leaves the room, and Junmyeon is left on the bed.

Of course he’s not pale anymore. What other color could he be besides bright red right now?

 

~*~

 

Jaekyung sprays a mist onto Junmyeon’s face, looking at him from every angle as she checks to make sure it has covered everything.

“So refreshing, right? It’ll help your makeup stay on all afternoon,” she assures him, checking once more to see if her work of art is finished.

Chanyeol sidles up to Junmyeon, sitting in the chair beside him. Chanyeol’s makeup is already done, but he doesn’t look much different. His eyebrows have been filled in and they added a bit of eyeliner to elongate his eyes, but other than that he looks basically the same.

“Wow,” he whistles low, observing his friend’s face. “This morning your face was all pale like you were dead, but look at you now! If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought that there was something going on in the room just now. You must have rested _so_ well.” Chanyeol grins mischievously at Junmyeon, who glares back.

“Huh, I guess you wouldn’t know, because you didn’t come wake me up when I told you to.”

Chanyeol doesn’t reply, instead making a teasing face behind Jaekyung. Junmyeon rolls his eyes.

“A bit more lipstick,” she says, “come here, pout your lips a bit.” She dabs the lipstick on, then leans back to admire her work. “Tap your lips together a bit.” Junmyeon follows her directions, and she smiles. “Perfect! Ah, it’s perfect, you’re even prettier than the Stars!”

“I think you meant ‘handsome,’ _noona_ ,” Junmyeon mumbles, but Jaekyung is lost in her fantasy.

“Really, if we put a wig and a dress on you and entered you in with the Stars you would win for sure, don’t you think, Chanyeol-ah?” she fawns over him, and Chanyeol nods with a grin. “Ah, so pretty,” she coos, “so pretty. I’m done now, I think.” She turns to Chanyeol once again. “So, what are you doing hanging around here? Waiting for your boyfriend?”

Chanyeol laughs but doesn’t deny anything, so Junmyeon quickly pipes up. “We are not like that, _noona_. Chanyeol, say something, please.”

“That’s true, _noona_. We are just close friends. Besides, his heart belongs to someone else.” Chanyeol winks. Junmyeon can only hide his reddening face in his hands, unable to retaliate.

When Jaekyung moves on to another person, Junmyeon finds Chanyeol and drags him outside. Chanyeol is still chuckling about the way Jaekyung had been fawning over Junmyeon. It doesn’t last for long, however, because Junmyeon talks with his hands in front of his mouth.

“Just because you know about it doesn’t mean you can tell the whole world!”

“H-hey,” Chanyeol tries to catch Junmyeon’s fists, but Junmyeon is fast when he wants to be. “That hurts! Okay, okay, I won’t do it again!” Chanyeol flinches when Junmyeon lifts his fist one last time.

Junmyeon crosses his arms in front of his chest. “One more thing. Why did you let him wake me up?”

“I didn’t let him wake you up!” Chanyeol sputters. “I went to get something to eat. When I came back I saw Yifan going in so I just...gave you two some alone time. Am I the best wingman or what?” Chanyeol beams, obviously proud of his ‘effort.’ Junmyeon glares at his best friend, then groans in exasperation.

“I don’t have enough trust...” Junmyeon mutters.

“Enough trust in what? In him? I don’t think he’s that kind of person, Junmyeon.”

“No…” Junmyeon groans some more. “Myself. I don’t trust _myself_ enough.”

Chanyeol covers his mouth with his hand, eyes all wide. “Heol, Junmyeon-ah. I knew you were desperate, but not to _that_ extent.”

“What. Are you talking about,” Junmyeon deadpans.

Chanyeol clicks his tongue. “Well, I’ve dated a Gemini like you, and everyone knows how Geminis are. For you to hold on for so long is already quite impressive.”

Junmyeon is floored. “For God’s sake Park Chanyeol, I was talking about confessing to him! Not about jumping on him!”

“Ah…is that it? Sorry.” Chanyeol grins sheepishly. “Even so, isn’t it better to tell him how you feel? If you are not really sure about how he feels about you, you should be around him more. Talk to him. Figure out the signs.” Junmyeon looks at his best friend helplessly. “Don’t make that face at me. There’s only so much I can do. I gave you two tons of alone time, and I’m already plotting how to give you more. Use that opportunity to the fullest.”

 

~*~

 

The scenery for the photoshoot could not have been selected more perfectly. The theme for today’s photoshoot is autumn sports so the Stars are gathered in the basketball court, passing the ball gracefully to each other, laughing and leaning on each other as if this weren’t all staged.

The Moons, meanwhile, are playing a game of soccer by the orchard, but they’re also being photographed. At least, Junmyeon thinks, they look candid. Chanyeol’s always been fairly decent at soccer, his long legs carrying him after a ball much faster than the others can. Junmyeon’s not bad as a defender, but he’s still tired from being sick in the morning, and he’s getting winded sooner than he normally would.

He goes to sit down on one of the benches near the orchard, and almost as soon as he seats himself, one of the staff members is standing next to him, taking photos of his surely unattractive face. He doesn’t know how to politely ask the staff member to go away, but it turns out he doesn’t need to.

Taekwoon appears, handing Junmyeon a water bottle and sitting next to him. “Go take pictures of other people,” Taekwoon tells the staff member, “he’s tired.” The staff member finally leaves Junmyeon in peace, and Junmyeon turns to Taekwoon, who looks at him with concern. “You were sick all morning,” Taekwoon reminds him, “you shouldn’t be playing sports right now.”

Junmyeon looks at him, contemplating whether Chanyeol was right and if Taekwoon really _does_ like him as more than a friend.

“You know, you can stop playing if you want,” Taekwoon continues, but Junmyeon shakes his head.

“Where were you all afternoon?” he asks, changing the subject. It was kind of weird that he hadn’t bumped into Taekwoon at all since getting off the bus.

“Were you looking for me?” Taekwoon asks slyly, giving Junmyeon a slight smile.

“If it’s you, I don’t have to look,” Junmyeon chuckles, “I just see you.”

“Ah,” Taekwoon sighs, staring at the trees in the orchard, “and here I was all happy for nothing…” he pauses, looking at the scenery for a moment. “Well, once I left you with the doctors, I rode in my friend’s car instead of the bus. But then he got a flat tire, so we just arrived.”

“Oh,” Junmyeon frowns sympathetically. “That’s a shame.”

“Not as bad as you, though. Did you throw up any more after the bus ride?”

Suddenly another water bottle appears by Junmyeon’s face, and Junmyeon’s heart thrills for a moment when he thinks it could be Yifan, but it’s Minseok instead.

“Hi, Minseok,” Taekwoon says. “I’m surprised you’re here instead of relaxing at the resort.”

“I have to take care of the kids for the Campus Moon,” he gestures behind him, and _there_ is Yifan, standing next to Yixing. They’re casually watching the soccer game in progress.

“ _Yah_ , why don’t you guys come to my room to drink tonight? I already have the alcohol,” Taekwoon offers, and Minseok and Yixing both nod with a grin. Yifan doesn’t react until Taekwoon asks if he’s coming too.

“Is it free?” Yifan questions, and Taekwoon answers affirmatively. “Then I’ll come.”

Taekwoon then turns to Junmyeon. “Junjun. Come with us.”

“He can’t,” Yifan suddenly says, and everyone including Junmyeon looks at him like he’s just made a bizarre outburst. He seems to sense this as he looks around, and his voice goes slightly quieter. “I mean...he’s still...recovering, right?” The atmosphere is suddenly totally awkward as Yifan attempts to further rationalize his objection. “Drinking alcohol isn’t good after being sick.” Yixing tries to nod convincingly in support, but the awkward atmosphere doesn’t let up. “Come on, Minseok,” Yifan says quickly, “let’s go check on the Stars.” He hurries away with Yixing, but Minseok hangs behind and puts his hand on Junmyeon’s shoulder.

“Are you going to be okay?” Minseok asks, and Junmyeon smiles at him.

“I’m fine, of course,” he says, and he notices Chanyeol running over, no doubt to also ask if Junmyeon is okay.

At least, that’s what Junmyeon expected, but when Chanyeol reaches the benches, it’s as if Junmyeon isn’t even there. “Hi _hyung_ , did you come to see me?” Chanyeol asks, looking straight at Minseok.

“No,” he replies bluntly. “Junjun, I’m going now.” He turns around, glaring at Chanyeol as he gets ready to leave. Junmyeon and Taekwoon nod at him in a departing gesture, but Chanyeol doesn’t seem to want to say goodbye.

“Why are you in such a hurry?” Chanyeol wonders aloud.

“None of your business,” Minseok snaps back, quickening his pace as he leaves the orchard.

“But _hyung_! I was just getting motivated to show off in the soccer game!” Chanyeol calls after him, but Minseok isn’t coming back.

And then, as if nothing has happened at all, Chanyeol runs straight back into the game.

Taekwoon looks at Junmyeon, and then at Chanyeol, and back and forth a couple of times until he finally speaks. “Junjun...does Chanyeol...like Minseok?”

Junmyeon is just as confused as Taekwoon. “I...don’t know. I guess I’ll ask him later.” Junmyeon shrugs, trying to process what just happened.

“And what...what about you? Who do you like?”

Junmyeon whips his head around to look at Taekwoon. “Who could I possibly like?” Junmyeon lets out a self-deprecating laugh. “Even if I liked someone, they wouldn’t like me back.”

“Why not?” Taekwoon asks incredulously. “Have you seen yourself? You’re totally heartshaker material.”

Junmyeon looks down, thinking of all the times Yifan acted totally unbothered by being around Junmyeon. “It definitely won’t go to that extent,” Junmyeon replies, laughing awkwardly. “I’m not cool like you. I think if anyone could make others’ hearts beat faster, it’s you, not me.”

“Really?” Taekwoon wonders, but when Junmyeon merely nods, they sit in silence for a brief moment, watching the game absentmindedly. “Hmm. I think it might not be like that, though.”

 

~*~

 

Junmyeon’s reading Evangelion again, lying on the bed as Chanyeol gets ready to go drink in Taekwoon’s room. Chanyeol is trying to decide whether to wear a leather jacket or a hoodie, and he ruffles his hair when he thinks Junmyeon’s not looking. He wonders if Chanyeol is trying to look good for a certain _hyung_ tonight.

“So,” Chanyeol pipes up. “You’re really not coming along? Yifan- _hyung_ is going. Are you sure you won’t be jealous?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” Junmyeon responds, hardly looking up from his _manhwa_. “You should leave soon, or you’ll be late and they’ll drink all the alcohol before you even get any.”

“Whatever you say,” Chanyeol shrugs, straightening his collar as a final touch. “Okay then, I’m off.”

Junmyeon sits up quickly, remembering he had something to ask. “Hey, Chanyeol.”

“Hm?” Chanyeol turns back around, looking at Junmyeon expectantly.

“Do you have feelings for Yifan- _sunbae_ ’s friend?”

Chanyeol looks up mischievously, then back at Junmyeon. “Which one?”

Junmyeon glares at his friend. “Stop pretending not to know what I’m talking about.”

“Is it even a surprise that I can bend both ways?” Chanyeol now opts to perch on the end of the bed and then winks at Junmyeon.

“I’m hardly surprised, you’d bend over _anyone_. But Minseok- _hyung_? He’s a tough nut to crack. And he’s straight.”

“Eh, straight is a flexible term. And you know Yifan- _hyung_ is supposedly straight too but that doesn’t stop you.”

Junmyeon fixes his drooping spectacles, choosing to deflect instead. “But aren’t you too aggressive? Minseok- _hyung_ can kick your butt for real, he does boxing.”

Chanyeol takes in a breath with a dreamy look on his face. “I know. Isn’t that thrilling? Besides, I need to make a lasting impression on him.”

Junmyeon shakes his head softly, laughing incredulously under his breath. “That’s one way to look at it, I guess.” Whatever he says will just get deflected by Chanyeol’s thick skull. Besides, he is not the right person to say anything about Chanyeol’s quickness. Slow and steady wins the race they say, but he’d rather charge forward like Chanyeol than keep on pacing around like the slow turtle he is right now. If only he was bestowed with the confidence that Chanyeol has.

“You sure you don’t want to go?” Chanyeol shakes Junmyeon’s ankle under the blanket, then rises after Junmyeon grunts his refusal.

“Just go and enjoy yourself tonight,” Junmyeon says, and Chanyeol grins as he heads out.

“By the way,” Chanyeol mentions as he stands in the doorway, “I don’t know when Yifan is coming back but when he does, don’t just be a log on the bed. Talk, okay?”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Junmyeon groans as he stretches, then burrows himself under the fluffy, warm blanket.

Chanyeol laughs as the door closes behind him, and Junmyeon goes back to reading his _manhwa_. He’s a bit surprised that Chanyeol, the guy who went through high school girlfriends like nobody else, is suddenly crushing on a guy. But then again, he supposes, love can strike at any time. Junmyeon knows that well.

The door opens again and Junmyeon is about to scold Chanyeol for not hurrying over there when he realizes it’s actually Yifan.

“Oh?” Junmyeon pipes up, “I thought you were going to drink with the others?”

Yifan looks at him for a moment before replying simply. “I need to change.” He walks over to his suitcase, his back towards Junmyeon. “Did you take the medicine?” he asks, not turning around.

Yifan pulls off his trousers, and Junmyeon can’t help but stare. Yifan has nice legs; not much ass to look at but his sturdy thighs, oh God…

“Shortie, I asked if you took the medicine,” Yifan says sharply, and Junmyeon finally pulls his gaze away from Yifan’s thighs to see Yifan is now looking at him. Junmyeon really, really hopes Yifan didn’t notice he was being admired.

“Yes, I took it a while ago,” Junmyeon replies quickly, his eyes going straight back to his _manhwa_.

“Good,” Yifan replies. “Get some rest then.”

Junmyeon looks up at him, pouting once more. “I already slept so much today,” he whines, “do I really have to sleep more?”

Yifan stares at him like he’s a spoiled child. “If you don’t want to sleep, then what do you want to do?”

Junmyeon has an idea. He thinks back to being pinned down on the bed, his body shivering yet warm underneath Yifan’s...their faces so close their noses nearly touch...just a little further than that…

“I-I want to read _manhwa_ ,” he replies quickly, infinitely thankful that mind-reading is fictional.

“Ah,” Yifan shakes his head, “such a kid.”

Junmyeon pouts, resolutely looking at his book. “Aren’t the others waiting for you?” he mutters, and Yifan shrugs.

“They won’t run out of alcohol,” he replies. “It’s fine.”

Suddenly they hear a knock on the door, and they both look at it. Yifan, sparing Junmyeon the effort of getting up out of the bed, goes to check who it is.

Yifan opens the door and Junmyeon cranes his neck to see who it could be, and he’s surprised to see that it’s Taeyeon, the Star from the Architecture Faculty.

She opens with “ _Oppa_!” before noticing that Junmyeon is also there. Her lips twitch as if she’s trying not to frown. “Ah, Junjun is staying in this room too?”

Junmyeon does not attempt to hide his displeasure, nodding curtly at her.

“Did you need something?” Yifan finally interrupts. She looks up at him, her smile plastered back on her face.

“I want to move the sofa in the room,” she says, a theatrical pout making its way to her lips, “but it’s too heavy. Can _oppa_ help me?”

“Sure,” Yifan replies easily, and in a moment he’s out the door with Taeyeon.

And now all Junmyeon can think of is Yifan pinning _her_ down onto the bed, her long hair spreading out behind her, her slender waist just waiting to be held by him. Thinking about that, how much more Yifan would like that than pinning Junmyeon down...it’s distressing to him.

He gets up out of the bed and steps into the hallway, looking down towards the Stars’ rooms. Yifan is outside Taeyeon’s door, and she’s smiling that incredibly fake smile once again. They don’t notice Junmyeon, and Junmyeon stays quiet to hear what they’re saying.

“If there’s anything else you need, just let me know,” he says. “You’re alone, so you should lock the door.”

She pouts, kicking her foot a little in apparent frustration. “Won’t you stay with me awhile? I don’t know when Namjoo and Bomi will get back…” she looks up at him with melodramatic sadness, and he scratches the back of his neck.

“I’d rather not,” he replies gently. “Junjun needs a friend.”

“Fine,” Taeyeon frowns, realizing she’s been rejected. She goes back into her room moodily, and when Yifan turns to return to his room, he spots Junmyeon standing there. Junmyeon can’t help but frown. Yifan seems regretful that he can’t join Taeyeon, as if Junmyeon is holding him back.

And that’s depressing.

 

~*~

 

(Yixing and Minseok have a room to themselves, and they’ve made themselves comfortable. They’re lounging around, watching a variety show on TV. It’s not particularly interesting, but it’s nice to just sit around and not have to worry about school for once.

Someone knocks on the door, and they both hesitate to get up, their eyes still glued to the television, but eventually Minseok goes to answer the knock.

He opens the door, expecting it to be Yifan, but instead, it’s a different tall person.

“Park Chanyeol, what do you want?” Minseok groans. This kid again.

“Taekwoon asked me to come get you guys,” Chanyeol replies innocently. Minseok looks at his watch.

“They’re starting already?” he asks, and Chanyeol nods. “Ugh, so early.”

“It’s not _that_ early,” Chanyeol insists. “I have to sleep tonight. Taekwoon- _hyung_ says that if I don’t sleep, I won’t look handsome for the photoshoots and video shoots tomorrow, and then I’ll lose.” He gives Minseok a cheeky grin that Minseok promptly ignores.

“Okay then,” Minseok says, moving to close the door, “we’ll be there soon.”

But Chanyeol catches the door, stopping it from closing. “Wait, wait, wait, Taekwoon- _hyung_ asked me to get ice! Will you come with me to the store?”

Minseok looks him up and down skeptically. This kid really needs a babysitter to help him buy ice? “Why should I go with you?” he demands. “Taekwoon told you to get ice, just go do as you’re told.”

Chanyeol pouts at Minseok. “The shop is so far and I don’t want to go alone. Please come with me.” He looks so pitiful and frowny like a little puppy who wants a toy he can’t have.

“I don’t care, I’m not going. Come get me when you’re done.” Minseok promptly closes the door before Chanyeol can catch it again, and he walks back to the bed to resume watching TV.

But the knocking on the door starts up again, and it doesn’t seem like it’s going to stop anytime soon. Minseok wants to scream. This is so annoying! How can he be like this? If he wants Minseok to like him he’s going to have to tone down how obnoxious he can be.

Minseok tries to ignore the knocking, but finally Yixing pleads with him to answer the door once more, and Minseok acquiesces, if only to end the ceaseless knocking.

He sullenly pulls the door open, and this time, Chanyeol steps into the room, suddenly towering over Minseok. “I’ll buy you snacks,” Chanyeol says, looking at Minseok with sparkles in his eyes. As if that would sway Minseok at all.

“No,” Minseok replies. “I’m watching my weight.”

“Ice cream?”

“Did you hear what I just said?”

Chanyeol sighs, his shoulders drooping as he drops any facade of _aegyo_. “What do I have to do to get you to come with me?” he asks sincerely, and Minseok opens his mouth even though he’s not sure what to say.

“Just go with him,” Yixing preempts him. “He keeps asking. Stop arguing and just go.” Minseok glares at his friend, but Yixing’s eyes are back on the TV. Minseok turns back to Chanyeol, who looks so hopeful it would be almost cruel to leave him out in the hallway alone at this point.

“Fine!” Minseok cries, knowing he’s been defeated. “Fine, I’ll go with you.” He puts a hand on Chanyeol’s chest and pushes the giant lug out of the room as he puts on his shoes. So annoying. So, so annoying.)

 

~*~

 

When they get back into the room, Junmyeon plops back down on the bed. He waits for Yifan to say something, but when Yifan does, it’s not really anything Junmyeon wants to hear.

“What happened just now...let’s forget about it, okay?” Yifan requests. “We shouldn’t let her reputation get hurt.”

Junmyeon furrows his brows. “You don’t want to go with her? Weren’t you kind of a playboy before?”

Yifan turns to face him, looking troubled. “Have you known me long enough to know if that’s true?” he asks, his voice soft. Junmyeon looks him up and down, seeing the expression on Yifan’s face. He looks a bit...expectant, perhaps. Or nervous that Junmyeon thinks poorly of him. Junmyeon shakes his head.

“No,” he says. “I’m just guessing based on what I’ve seen.” It’s true that Yifan seems like the type of guy who would be a player. Tall, handsome, popular, and aloof. It’s the perfect recipe for a Casanova.

“Well,” Yifan looks away from Junmyeon. “It might have been true in the past. But from now on, no more.”

And that intrigues Junmyeon. He perks up, sitting with his feet perched on the bed frame. “Why? Have you met the right person?”

Yifan doesn’t respond, instead choosing to move across the room in the most awkward way to collect his clothes. Junmyeon can’t help but wonder if the right person...could be Tiffany. Maybe that’s why Yifan rejected Taeyeon; because he’s loyal to his girlfriend. It hurts Junmyeon to think about.

Yifan walks towards the bathroom to change, but he stops just short of the door. “Shortie,” he says boldly, turning around. They stare at each other for a moment, both seemingly expecting the other to say something important. But then Yifan crumples a bit, licking his lips awkwardly as he looks anywhere but at Junmyeon. “Don’t you have some _manhwa_ to read?”

Junmyeon sighs deeply, shaking his head. He doesn’t feel like reading anymore.

Yifan seems to understand, which is completely unfair of him since he’s the one who caused this. He goes into the bathroom, leaving Junmyeon to stew in his thoughts.

(“The right person…” Yifan muses to himself after closing the bathroom door. “It’s you, Junmyeon. It’s you.”)

 

~*~

 

When Yifan finally comes out of the bathroom with a grey jumper and Adidas track pants, he looks so soft and casual that Junmyeon’s heart shakes once again. Junmyeon is already comfortable under the blanket, but seeing Yifan like that makes Junmyeon feel somehow warmer. Junmyeon can totally see this image of Yifan being casual at home. And them together...as a family...

Junmyeon is getting lost in a domestic mood and he shakes those silly thoughts away.

“Don’t you have to leave soon?” Junmyeon asks again, hoping Yifan will leave the room quicker.

“Why?” Yifan asks, looking back at Junmyeon as he puts his old clothes back into his suitcase in the closet by the door. “Do you want me to leave?”

“No,” Junmyeon replies as he grabs the next volume of the _manhwa_ he’s been reading _._ “I’m just curious.”

The rustling stops. Junmyeon expects for the door to be opened, but that doesn’t happen. Instead, he hears, “I’m not going anymore.” Junmyeon blinks, wondering for a moment if he heard correctly. Then Yifan enters Junmyeon’s peripheral vision, occupying the sofa next to the bed Junmyeon has been lying on.

Junmyeon shifts his attention to Yifan. “You’re not going? Why?”

“Well…” Yifan says, rubbing the back of his neck, “Chanyeol is gone and you’ll be alone in the room if I leave too. I’ll stay here with you.”

“Uh…thanks but…it’s okay, you don’t need to babysit me; I’ll be fine!” The end of his sentence somehow comes out with a higher pitch. Maybe because he suddenly feels nervous for having Yifan around him while he is still awake. “Taeyeon wants your company, though.” _Why don’t you spend your time with her?_

Yifan makes a short hissing noise at nothing in particular. “I don’t want her company.” Junmyeon hears the annoyance in the way Yifan ended his sentence. Junmyeon shifts his gaze, his eyes now back on the book, but his mind elsewhere. He pushed a little too far it seems, and it is only right that Yifan is annoyed about it. Junmyeon now opts to be quiet and wishes for the time to pass by with them not minding each other’s business.

(Yifan glances at Junmyeon—the freshman is pouting for some reason.

 _I don’t want her company,_ Yifan thinks to himself as he opens a tab in the browser. _I want to be with you, Kim Junmyeon. Why can’t you see that?_ )

 

~*~

 

(“The shop isn’t that far,” Minseok complains to Chanyeol as they walk side by side, heading to the convenience store. “You’re being a baby about this.”

“What if I got kidnapped? Then what?” Chanyeol retorts. “Because I’m so handsome someone would definitely kidnap me if I was alone.”

“Wow, you are way too confident,” Minseok shakes his head incredulously.

“Hey, if I was a tourist walking alone, wouldn’t you kidnap me?”

“Why would I kidnap you? I already have zero interest in you, why would I want to spend all my time with you?” Minseok replies. He knows he’s being rude but he can’t help it when he’s being annoyed like this.

“Well...if that’s true, then why do you never make eye contact when you talk to me?” Chanyeol wonders slyly, and Minseok grits his teeth.

“I’m not trying to do it, it’s just that you’re annoying,” Minseok says as nonchalantly as he can. “You’re _annoying_.”

Chanyeol laughs heartily, smiling at Minseok. “You’ll get used to it.” Minseok rolls his eyes.

“I shouldn’t have to get used to it,” he points out, “you should just be less annoying.”

“Really, you would like me if you just gave me a chance,” Chanyeol insists, but Minseok stops listening when they arrive at the store. Chanyeol opens the door, but Minseok stops where he is.

“I’ll wait outside, so hurry up,” he says, and Chanyeol shrugs, heading into the store to buy what he needs.

He _is_ annoying, Minseok is going to be honest about that. But Minseok will also be honest about the fact that Chanyeol is damn handsome. Minseok may be obstinate, but he’s not dead; he can admire a handsome man’s looks and still dislike him.

And anyway, this isn’t about him, this is about ensuring that Yifan can win Junmyeon’s heart easily. That’s what Minseok tells himself.

Chanyeol returns a couple minutes later with a big bag of ice and another bag that’s clearly full of snacks. He holds the snack bag out in front of him. “ _Hyung_ , can you take a bag?”

“Making me do your work,” Minseok tsks, stubbornly not complying.

“I’m not making you do it,” Chanyeol replies gently. “I’m just asking. Please.” Minseok grudgingly and wordlessly takes the proffered bag. Chanyeol smiles when Minseok takes it, and Minseok has to admit that Chanyeol has a nice smile. “Oh, before we go back, I want to stop somewhere.”

“What? Where?”

“Just follow me.”

Chanyeol leads Minseok down the road a ways and then into a park. They end up in a clearing, where there’s a wide open field full of purple wildflowers that seem to almost glow in the moonlight. Chanyeol sits on the grassy incline at the edge of the clearing, staring out at the beautiful flowers and the night sky. It’s lovely, but Minseok is irked.

“What is this?” he asks. “Are you here to take a picture of the moon or something? I’m not stopping here just so you can have a picnic. Come on, let’s go back.”

Chanyeol looks up at him as if he’s talking nonsense. “What’s your hurry? Sit down for a second.”

“The ice is going to melt!” Minseok reminds him, and Chanyeol chuckles.

“If it melts I can just buy more.”

Minseok furrows his brow. “ _Yah_ , Park Chanyeol!”

“Yes, _sunbaenim_?” Chanyeol looks up at him once again, a knowing smile on his face.

“You’re annoying me, get up,” Minseok snaps.

“Sit down first,” Chanyeol counters.

“No, I said get up,” Minseok snaps despite knowing that scolding Chanyeol is going to do him absolutely no good.

“Please just sit down,” Chanyeol requests once again, and Minseok realizes for the second time tonight that he’s not going to win, so he finally sits, totally defeated.

Chanyeol reaches into the bag between them, pulling out a warm _hoppang_ and taking a bite. Minseok looks at him, watching him nibble on it. Chanyeol is looking up at the sky, simply eating the _hoppang_ and Minseok doesn’t really get why they’re here. He reaches into the bag too, wondering if maybe…

“You said you didn’t want me to buy you snacks, so I didn’t,” Chanyeol says as though he read Minseok’s mind. Minseok frowns at him.

“It looks like you’re enjoying it.”

“Well...yeah. I like _hoppang_.” Chanyeol stares pointedly at Minseok for a moment, and Minseok has not missed the fact that _Hoppang_ was his high school nickname too. He rolls his eyes in response, knowing that Chanyeol meant that to sound like a confession. He knows he’s being teased.

“Can we please go now?” Minseok whines, crossing his arms.

“I still don’t understand why you’re in such a hurry. I haven’t even taken my picture of the moon yet.”

“Then hurry up and take it!” Minseok urges him, and Chanyeol puts his hands up in mock defeat.

“Okay, okay.” He reaches into his pocket, then pats around as he looks at Minseok with concern. “Uh…”

“What now?”

“I know I took it with me to the store…” he continues patting around his pants, looking concerned, and Minseok sighs loudly.

“You lost your phone? My god, you’re scatterbrained. So what now?” Minseok asks. He can’t believe this is happening.

“Can I borrow your phone to call mine? I must have dropped it around here somewhere.”

“Fine,” Minseok mutters, handing Chanyeol his phone. “Man, you act all big and cocky but you’re really just a little kid, right? Losing your phone, seriously…”

Chanyeol calls his phone and they both hear it ring very loudly. Almost too loudly…

“...Found it…” Chanyeol grins sheepishly, pulling it out of the pocket he clearly checked.

What the _fuck_. Chanyeol did this on purpose to mess with him. “What the fuck are you trying to pull?” he demands, grabbing his phone back.

“I just wanna know your number…”

Minseok stands up. He’s absolutely livid. “You better save your _fucking_ ass.” He stomps up the hill as Chanyeol calls to him.

“ _Hyung,_ I’m sorry, I—” Chanyeol tries to soothe Minseok, but Minseok’s not having it, and he’s not leaving with Chanyeol. He turns back to finish this.

“Am I someone you can joke around with like this? You’re going overboard, this was way fucking overboard. Give me the ice. Give it to me!” he yells at Chanyeol, so mad that Chanyeol is pushing his way into Minseok’s life when he clearly doesn’t want to be bothered. He _hates_ him right now. He grabs the bag of ice out of Chanyeol’s hands and turns away once again, only catching a glimpse of Chanyeol’s regretful expression.

“ _Hyung_ , where are you going?” Chanyeol asks weakly.

“To drink! And don’t you fucking dare follow me!” Minseok storms away, back through the park. He can’t believe this. To think Chanyeol would pull a trick like that one someone who’s already unwilling to be befriended. Ridiculous.)

 

~*~

 

An hour has gone by.

Junmyeon has now changed his position to sitting cross-legged on the bed playing with his phone. Nothing in his social media account feeds piques his interest. Yifan is on the sofa, looking at his iPad. There’s doing totally different things, silently, and Junmyeon is totally focused.

 _Okay, that’s a lie,_ he tells himself as he looks up from his phone to glance at Yifan for the thousandth time that evening. He tries not to do it, but he can’t help himself. He can’t believe they’re sharing a room, and that Yifan stayed back from a party just for him.

“What’s with that face?” Yifan asks when he catches Junmyeon looking at him. “Am I distracting you?”

“Um, no!” Junmyeon hurries to reply. “I was just…stretching my neck...” Junmyeon trails off. Yifan shows no signs of picking up the conversation.

Now, Junmyeon can just leave this at it is, but it is not Junmyeon’s nature to not make things right if given a chance. It is already a challenge to spend the night with Yifan in the same room; staying there knowing that he made Yifan mad is worse.

“Are you...bored?” Junmyeon slouches a bit, knowing he’s not entertaining at all.

“No,” Yifan replies gently. “We’re doing our own thing here. You’re not boring me.”

“I’m sorry,” Junmyeon says anyway. “It would be more fun to go drinking, but instead you’re here with me.”

Yifan’s brows knit for a split second before he replies. “You think I need to be partying and laughing to have fun?”

Junmyeon looks down. Even if Yifan says he’s okay, Junmyeon wonders if Yifan really wants to be here, spending time with him. When he looks back up at Yifan, Yifan is once again focused on his iPad.

“What are you doing?” Junmyeon asks softly, but Yifan doesn’t look up.

“Looking at piano sheet music,” he replies simply.

“Oh, you play piano too?” Junmyeon asks. He could swear Yifan smiles for a second before he turns to face Junmyeon.

“It’s for you, silly,” he says, and Junmyeon’s eyes go wide. For him? Yifan does smile now. “What kind of face is that?” he chuckles. “Are you touched I’d help you?”

“No,” Junmyeon replies reflexively, but in truth he is quite touched. Junmyeon was so sure that Yifan is mad at him but turns out, Yifan is looking out for him. “Um, what song are you looking at?”

“I’m not really sure,” Yifan replies. “I’m not the pianist...you should pick.” He looks back down at his iPad and Junmyeon watches him for a second before turning back to his phone to do his own research. But as soon as he does, Yifan coughs conspicuously. “What are you doing?” Yifan asks. “Come here, let’s pick a song.” He pats the spot next to him on the sofa. Junmyeon hesitates, feeling awkward that Yifan wants him to sit next to him. “Come on,” Yifan pushes, “I don’t bite.”

Junmyeon gets up and sits down on the sofa next to Yifan, leaving a respectable amount of room between them.

“So?” Yifan asks. “Korean song or international song?”

“Um...I think...a Korean song?”

Yifan nods in approval. “Mhmm. International song would be good, but you’re right, I think a Korean song would really suit you. What about this song?” Yifan opens a new tab to a song titled “I Only Know Love.”

“You think I should perform trot music?” Junmyeon deadpans.

“I’m kidding.” They both look back at the iPad as Yifan scrolls through lists of piano scores. You should choose a song that suits your feelings. Just think of the first thing that comes to mind.” He hands the iPad to Junmyeon, prompting him to find a song he thinks would reflect his feelings.

Junmyeon scrolls through the contemporary pop music. Top ten songs of all time are either about break-ups or…unrequited love. Of course. Haha.

Junmyeon scrolls down, scanning through the directories. “You can decide slowly, there’s no need to rush. As long as you pick something by this weekend I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Yifan gets up, taking his wallet and cell phone from the table next to him. “I’m going to get something to eat. Is there anything you want? I can get it for you.”

Junmyeon looks up from the iPad slowly. “But I’m your servant right? Shouldn’t I get it for you?”

Yifan looks at him pityingly. “You’re a _sick_ servant, and I don’t want to bully you. So let me get something for you. What do you want?”

“I’ll come with you,” Junmyeon announces. It doesn’t sit right with him to make Yifan to go out alone. Besides, the moon is out and he wants to walk outside under the moonlight. “Just let me change clothes.”

“I was just planning on going to the convenience store; there’s no need to get dressed up,” comments Yifan. Junmyeon looks down at his white-blue striped t-shirt and fleece pajama pants, then looks up at Yifan, making his point. Yifan opens the closet and a black hoodie magically appears. “Try this.” Yifan then hands it over to Junmyeon.

Junmyeon takes the hoodie and puts it on without much protest. Junmyeon catches a whiff of baby powder—something he would never associate with a stoic man like Yifan—as he pulls the hoodie down over his head. Even before wearing it, Junmyeon expects to be swimming in it. Indeed, the tips of his fingers can’t even feel the breeze and the hem reaches the middle of his thighs. When he finally manages to get his head out into the hood, his glasses are askew and his hair is tousled in different directions. Junmyeon struggles to make his fingers appear and it seems to be an amusing thing for Yifan.

“Let me,” Yifan gets closer.

Maybe it’s his brain getting overloaded with sci-fi manhwa, or maybe because his body’s circadian rhythm is already fucked up. But Junmyeon swears that everything is in slow motion the moment Yifan leans down and combs Junmyeon’s hair with his long fingers gently. Junmyeon can only see Yifan’s lips from this vantage point and the only word that Junmyeon thinks of when he sees the smile is ‘fond.’

Yifan’s fingers now move to the sides of his glasses, setting them straight and pushing them in by the hinges ever so softly. The smile now turns to a beam. “Cute,” Yifan says, and in that long stretch on time and such a short distance, Junmyeon can hear clearly every syllable, can see every movement of Yifan’s lips.

Junmyeon looks up to see a pair deep brown eyes looking straight at him, drawing him further in the more he looks at them. “Let’s go,” Junmyeon hears, and like being hypnotised, his feet easily take him wherever Yifan is going.

 

~*~

 

Yifan seems to like black tea. Junmyeon notices that he takes two bottles out of the cooler in the convenience store. Junmyeon catches a glimpse of a yellow bottle and he does a double take. _Banana milk!_ Junmyeon pats himself down to find his wallet but to his dismay, he didn’t bring his wallet. Or his phone.

“What’s wrong?” Yifan asks, his voice soft. Junmyeon feels some tingling from the tips of his fingers down to his spine.

Junmyeon replies with the same tone, “I didn’t bring my wallet.”

Again, a smile comes easy on Yifan’s face. Too easy, almost automatic. “I’ll buy for you. What do you want?”

 _You,_ Junmyeon yells in his mind. _I want you._ But of course, he cannot say that out loud. Junmyeon points to the banana milk instead with his index finger half hidden in the long sleeve.

“This,” Junmyeon says, his _aegyo_ voice on point.

Yifan opens the cooler and takes one, all the while the smile never goes away from his face. “What else?”

Junmyeon worries his lower lip (on purpose, of course) as he scans the junk foods on display. “You sure you are buying? I have a lot in mind.”

“How much?” Yifan’s gentle demeanor now turns to teasing. The chill Junmyeon gets on his limbs tells him that he is definitely liking where this is going.

“What if I say I want this whole row?” Junmyeon points to a row of Pringles, testing the water.

“You can, but if you can’t finish them all,” Yifan moves closer leans down. “I’ll punish you.”

The chill now moves to the back of Junmyeon’s neck. He feels something stirs deep within him.

“ _Oppa_!”

Whatever tension they had between them is now broken. Junmyeon gives Yifan a not-so-discreet pointed look. Taeyeon is here, flanked by her friend Bomi. Just great.

“ _Oppa_ , are you buying snacks? You didn’t invite us?” Taeyeon complains with manufactured cuteness.

“I thought you were already asleep,” Yifan mutters, and the two girls laugh obnoxiously.

“Not yet,” Taeyeon giggles.

“It’s just barely after ten!” Bomi laughs.

“ _Oppa_ , Junjun, please wait for us! We can all walk back together,” Taeyeon requests sweetly.

Junmyeon turns to the Pringles, feigning ignorance to the interaction they are having. “Sure…I guess,” Junmyeon hears Yifan mutter. Junmyeon thinks about whether or not he should grab a can, since he has no appetite anymore. _Whatever,_ Junmyeon grumbles to himself as he takes two more packets of anything within his reach. _I’m not the one paying._

When Yifan pays for the girls too, Junmyeon is irked even more. He tries to look for the ‘signs’ Chanyeol told him to, and from what Junmyeon is seeing, they’re more like blurred, undefined signals. Junmyeon doesn’t get what they mean. At all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE QUICK AGAIN! Like I said last time, please don't get used to it. Also, thank you all so much for the sweet comments and DMs we've gotten. It really warms our hearts <3


	7. 7회

The four of them walk back from the convenience store together, but it’s clear that Junmyeon is stuck with Bomi, since Taeyeon has taken the liberty of walking beside Yifan. Taeyeon asks Yifan to carry her bag for her, and he graciously does so. Junmyeon wants to throw up when she tells him he’s sweet and calls him “ _oppa_ ” again in the fakest cute voice.

“Ah, this _unnie_ is just….” Bomi gives an off-handed remark in a low voice, surely due to the blatant coquettish display by her roommate, but Junmyeon doesn’t need to look to confirm. Instead Junmyeon kicks a pebble, half hoping it’ll hit Yifan’s leg. Junmyeon completes Bomi’s unfinished sentence (“a fox!) in his mind. He remembers the story of the nine-tailed fox disguising herself as a fair maiden who sets out to seduce males with her grace and beauty, aiming to gorge on their hearts.

The pebble doesn’t quite hit Yifan but it does land near his planted feet. It takes Junmyeon a moment to look up and see that all three of them have stopped walking and now are looking at him with varying expressions on their faces.

“There was a fox behind that tree just now,” Bomi suddenly says, pointing out to the trees by the path, before she turns to look at Junmyeon and adds, “right, Junmyeon- _ah_?” Junmyeon immediately gets the hint.

“Yes. A fox. Behind the tree.” Junmyeon isn’t really sure where Bomi was pointing so he makes a vague circular in the air towards the same area with his sweater paw.

“It’s out to get some food, perhaps,” Bomi comments with a playful lilt and at that moment Junmyeon somehow develops a sense of kinship towards Bomi. Soon enough they all resume walking, and Taeyeon continues her foxy act as if nothing happened just now.

“ _Yah_ ,” Junmyeon feels a nudge on his arm, “now that you had said the truth out loud, it feels good, huh?” Bomi says with a teasing grin on her face.

Junmyeon gives her a sheepish smile. He then looks at the duo again, not so subtly this time. This, the image of Yifan’s broad shoulders and wide back, was the most common view Junmyeon had of Yifan back in high school. Sure, a few weeks in university had given him the opportunity to walk alongside his long time crush, but that didn’t mean a thing.

In the end, the one that deserved the spot beside Yifan would _never_ be Junmyeon.

“He really doesn’t know what’s coming for him tonight, huh? Ah, I guess I have to crash in someone else’s room tonight,” Bomi drops a comment, eyes fixed in the same direction as Junmyeon’s. Oddly, by now, there’s no rage or even jealousy coming from within Junmyeon; just melancholy acceptance.

“If you want,” Junmyeon stops walking, causing Bomi to do the same, “we can hang out together.”

Bomi gives him a disbelieving stare. “Are you sure?”

Junmyeon gives her a smile that he hopes doesn’t look as soulless as he feels. “Yeah.”

(It takes some time for Yifan to realize the footsteps behind him have ceased. When he does, he throws a glance over his shoulder only to see the ones who were walking behind him have stopped walking and instead are talking to each other face-to-face. The girl smiles—Yifan frowns.)

  
  


~*~

  
  


(Yifan reaches for the door handle of his shared room, momentarily panicking when he sees the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign hanging on it.

Ten minutes prior when they arrived back at their rooms, Taeyeon had insisted that Yifan come into her room. She wanted to talk about something personal, she said, and truthfully Yifan was not in the mood to be a good Moon and listen to whatever problem she had. But when Junmyeon said with a very leveled voice—no emotion, no nothing—“Just go, _sunbaenim_. Maybe she really needs to talk to someone,” Yifan knew that there was no way to refuse Taeyeon’s invitation anymore.

“I’ll accompany Junjun in the meantime. Right, Junjun?” Bomi had said in that cheerful voice of hers as Junmyeon held the door of their room open for her.

Before the door closed behind Junmyeon, Yifan said out loud, “I’ll come back soon.” Junmyeon held the door for a second, then let it close.

And Yifan came back soon enough. Talking was the only thing that happened between Taeyeon and him—he tried his best to act as a mentor and a mentor only, strictly drawing the line between them. She didn’t take it well at first—no one with that much self-confidence could handle such rejection—but there’s a limit for Yifan’s patience too.

Yifan glares at the hanging sign by the door. He really wants to barge in right now but what if...what if...

Then the door opens.

“Oh, _sunbae_ , you’re back already?” Bomi smiles at him. She smiles so much, but Yifan is not in the mood to be chipper. Yifan notes the way her hair remains the same and then asks her regarding the sign on the door, but Bomi denies having anything to do with it. She claims that the sign was there even before she went into the room and Yifan starts to doubt himself.

Bomi gives way for Yifan to enter his own room. She says something about having to make a phone call as she leaves, but the rest of her sentence is reduced to white noise when Yifan’s eyes fall onto the figure of Junmyeon, still clad in Yifan’s black hoodie, sleeping soundly in a fetal position on one side of the large bed.

Yifan doesn’t recall hearing the door close behind Bomi, but when only he and Junmyeon are left in the room, Yifan takes the chance to stare at Junmyeon’s face to his heart’s content. He wishes that whatever dream Junmyeon is having right now, Yifan is the good guy in it.

Yifan wants to be the good guy for Junmyeon. _Always_.)

  
  


~*~

  
  


(The virtual bowling ball rolls off center and straight into the gutter. Himchan hangs his head down, then sits down on the side of one of the beds. Someone comments about his exceptional bowling skill, and others chime in with more creative insults.

Meanwhile, Minseok, Yixing, Taekwoon and Jonghyun are seated in a circle, enjoying some fried chicken while watching their friends fighting over Wii games like small children. Minseok opts for diet Coke and only takes the chicken breast. Taekwoon and Yixing seem to be very deep in conversation about something as Jonghyun joins them. Minseok chooses to just quietly eat his piece of chicken, occasionally glancing in the direction of the door. He just can’t seem to enjoy himself.

Jonghyun, the former Agricultural Moon, seems to pick up on Minseok’s thoughts. “ _Yah_ , is Chanyeol coming or not?” he asks in his thick Busan accent.

Minseok slowly turns his head to the television when he notices Yixing is looking towards him. Taekwoon shrugs his shoulders, speaking up. “Yifan already said he’s not coming, so I guess they’re hanging out with Junjun? I hope he’s not still sick…”

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Yixing chimes in, throwing a chicken bone in the pile. “Junjun, I mean. About Chanyeol, though.” Yixing turns away from Minseok. “I’m not so sure.”

Minseok puts down his soda can. “Sorry, I need to excuse myself for a minute,” he announces, throwing a not so subtle glare at his best friend. Minseok huffs and gets up towards the door, missing the hearing Jonghyun question Taekwoon’s adoration towards the Science Moon.

Minseok walks to the corridor and calls his other best friend. “Oh, Minseok-ah. What’s up?” comes Yifan’s voice. He’s speaking more quietly than usual.   
  
“I’m drinking with the others. Where are you?” he asks.   
  
“I’m...in the room.”

“What about Junmyeon?”

“He’s...sleeping. Right across from me.” For a moment Yifan doesn’t respond, but Minseok can imagine him staring at his sleeping beauty and wishing he could lean in and kiss him to break the spell. Yifan is so weak for cute things, and Junmyeon is the number one cutest thing to Yifan.

Minseok hums in response, something else on his mind. “Is...” Minseok crinkles his nose. Even saying the name takes a lot of willpower. “Is Chanyeol there with you?”

“Chanyeol? No, he left a while ago. I thought he was headed over to meet with you guys already.”

Minseok sighs. “That’s…that’s what I thought too. But he’s not here. I don’t know, I guess I’ll find him or whatever.”

There’s silence from the Yifan for a moment. “Minseok, you’re rambling. What happened?”

Minseok takes a deep breath, wondering to himself whether he wants to spill everything to Yifan or not. But in the end, Yifan is a Moon too, and Chanyeol is a junior under his care, so Minseok reckons that Yifan ought to know about this—of course, with some undisclosed details.

But Yifan, despite being oblivious regarding the Junjun-Myeonnie situation, manages to catch those hidden details. Maybe because they have been friends for so long. “So his target was you this whole time? Man, I was so worried that he would snatch my Myeonnie from under my nose but I guess I can rest easy now.”

Minseok tsks at Yifan’s response. “Is that all you can think of? You’re so whipped.” He hears a soft sigh passing through Yifan’s lips.

“Perhaps,” Yifan answers. “Perhaps I am.”

The sound of a whip cracking plays in Minseok’s mind. “But you’re still not safe though. You still have Taekwoon to worry about. Once he knows you are alone with Junmyeon, he’ll surely do something.”

The sigh that comes from the other end of the phone is particularly heavy. “If Chanyeol is still not there by thirty minutes, just tell me. I’ll try to find him. Don’t worry too much about him.”

“Hey, I’m not—” Minseok huffs, already forgetting about Yifan’s abrupt change of topic, when he turns around to see Hakyeon at the end of the corridor holding something that looks like pizza boxes, and a figure of someone very familiar walking behind him.

It’s Chanyeol.

Minseok lets out a breath of relief. “He’s here. Thanks, Yifan.”

Not long after he hangs up, Hakyeon reaches where Minseok is standing. “Ah, that delivery man. If I’d known he would arrive late, I wouldn’t have waited so long out there! But at least, he gave me some coupons.”

Minseok only nods, but it’s obvious that the subject of his interest is not the pizza. “Oh, right,” Hakyeon looks back at Chanyeol. “I found him sitting on the bench alone in the park. We ended up waiting for the pizza together,” Hakyeon giggles. “But when I told him to come up with me, he refused at first. Only when his stomach were growling to be fed, only then he agreed to come. Such a weird kid.”

By now, the look on Minseok’s face changes from neutral to displeased. Chanyeol still silently has his eyes glued to the ground.

“The fried chicken is almost gone, the guys will be wanting the pizza. You go ahead,” Minseok tells Hakyeon. “I want to talk to this _hoobae_ here.” Minseok notices the way Chanyeol’s drooping shoulders, if possible, go down even more at Minseok’s words, and his eyes remain averted—like a guilty puppy.

The moment they are left alone, Minseok strikes an authoritative pose; both arms in front of his chest, legs shoulder-width apart.

“You,” Minseok starts with a stern voice. “Exactly what is going on in that big head of yours? Just because I tell you to not follow me, you chose to just stay there? Are you out of your mind? What if something happened to you?” The high pitch of his voice is more than enough to tell how genuinely upset he is right now. It is not his problem if anything happens to Chanyeol—Chanyeol is an adult that is capable of making sound decisions—but why is Minseok the one getting worked up right now? “Ah, my head hurts.” Minseok heaves a heavy sigh. “You, keep your head up and look at me in the eyes. Tell me, why did you do that? Make me understand what is it in that head of yours, for fuck’s sake.”

Chanyeol looks up hesitantly until he meets Minseok’s piercing stare. Chanyeol flinches once. “I thought—I thought you would hate me more if I didn’t do what you told me to do. I…” Chanyeol wills himself to look straight at Minseok. “I don’t want you to hate me. Please don’t hate me.”

Minseok has never had the chance to properly look at Chanyeol. He had been running away from every advance Chanyeol made, scared of the unknown. But now, standing in the middle of the corridor, Minseok sees the guilt, the desperation, the honesty; all together in Chanyeol’s clear eyes.

For a moment, Minseok tells himself, maybe he should give a little chance to this big puppy-man named Park Chanyeol. Maybe Chanyeol really just wants a friend.

“If I tell you not to follow me around anymore, will you?”

Chanyeol pouts hard, yet he still nods begrudgingly. “If _hyung_ tells me not to follow, I won’t follow you.”

“Oh, so you will just give up on me? That easy?”

Chanyeol shakes his head furiously. “I’m not! But—but—but—arghh!” Chanyeol palms his face with his huge hands. “I really don’t know…”

Minseok is clearly having fun teasing the freshman, but he does feel a bit bad. “To be honest, I still don’t know what is it about me that you like so much. But tell you what, I’ll give you a chance…” Chanyeol gives an expectant look to Minseok’s hopeful sentence. “...if you do well.”

“Even for a chance, I’m willing to do anything!” The bright, full-toothed smile is back on Chanyeol’s face. If Chanyeol had a tail, it would be wagging in delight. Minseok tries not to let a smile appear on his face. “Ah, to increase my chances, I have a present for you.”

Chanyeol reaches into his jacket and pulls out a keychain. A _hoppang_ keychain, to be exact. A soft, round piece of white foam that takes up about a quarter of Minseok’s palm and has (≧∇≦)/ emoji printed on it. It looks so much like Chanyeol with his trademark smile and _oh my god_ , Minseok is being soft on Chanyeol now, isn’t he?

“ _Hoppang_. Zero calorie,” Chanyeol says with excitement. “You can’t eat it, but you can squeeze it as much as you want instead. A great stress reliever. And it is very cute.” Chanyeol opens another hand, and a similar keychain with a different expression (one that weirdly looks like a cat) dangles from his fingers. “That’s why I bought one for myself too.”

Minseok scoffs in disbelief, but also in amusement. “I really don’t get why you like it so much.”

“Well, if you got to know me better, maybe one day you will.”

Minseok curves the edges of his mouth downwards, acknowledging the _hoobae_ for being so smooth. He pockets the keychain, already thinking where he’s going to attach that cute little thing. “We’ll see.” Minseok smirks, keeping a smile from blooming on his face.

 

~*~

 

(This morning, Yifan has learned something very important.

One, Junmyeon can really sleep a lot and he sleeps like a baby.

Two, a sleepy Junmyeon could be grumpy and would make…a rather erotic noise, but he could also be very complacent.

Three, Yifan’s heart really couldn’t handle all that at once.

Yifan had tried to stay up to finish his revision but he just couldn’t focus, not with Junmyeon sleeping—so soundly, so serenely—just opposite him. Thinking that Chanyeol would come back late, Yifan just stayed on the sofa and closed his eyes and the last thing that he saw was Junmyeon sleeping in the fetal position, still clad in Yifan’s black hoodie.

Five hours later, Yifan’s biological clock wakes him right on time. Yifan wakes up as usual and the first thing he sees is Junmyeon; still sleeping, except he no longer has the blanket over him; it had been kicked off the bed. Yifan notes the absence of a person next to Junmyeon and deduces that Chanyeol really didn’t come back that night. Tsk, if only he’d known that Chanyeol was staying elsewhere, he wouldn’t have wasted the opportunity to lay beside Junmyeon on the bed. But then he thinks maybe it was a good thing too. Yifan doesn’t want to wake up with Junmyeon ‘accidentally’ being spooned in his arms and another… ‘natural’ body reaction that may cause a grave misunderstanding. Of course he would love to do that, but not without any consent.

 _Yes_ , Yifan tells himself, _it’s for the best._

Yifan takes about half an hour to shower and to dry his hair properly and when he’s all done, Junmyeon is _still_ asleep. At this point, the physician in him kicks in. He sits beside the bed, taking in Junmyeon’s sleeping form for a few more moments, before he ever so gently shakes the sleeping boy by the shoulder. He calls Junmyeon’s name in the same gentle manner.

“Junmyeon- _ah_? Wake up,” Yifan whispers. He calls again, and this time Junmyeon groans and crinkles his face, but his eyes remain shut. Yifan instinctively bops that cute little nose with his finger; a smile breaking out on his face like a sun at dawn, adoration dripping from his eyes like honey. Yifan calls Junmyeon for the third time.

“Fi...min…” Junmyeon mumbles. “...eum sleep... sum mo...” he turned around then burrowed his face into the pillow.

“You can’t,” coaxes Yifan, amused by this cute rabbit-like behavior. “You slept too much already. It’s time to wake up.”

Junmyeon groans some more. Slowly he raises one of his arms up, as if expecting something. Yifan can only laugh and coo, “Such a prince.” Yifan takes the sleepy boy’s hand and pulls it, forcing Junmyeon to sit upright. But Junmyeon’s eyes just won’t open.

“Now, go shower, okay?” Yifan takes a clean towel and puts it right beside Junmyeon. The freshman nods mindlessly. “What about breakfast? Do you want me to bring some for you?” Another nod for an answer. “Okay, I’ll go grab something for you. Be ready when I get back.”

Junmyeon doesn’t protest when Yifan playfully pinches Junmyeon’s cheek; the cuteness is just too much to handle. For a moment Yifan feels envious of Chanyeol, since he must’ve seen a lot of this side of Junmyeon.

  
  


~*~

  
  


(After filling up his stomach with a hearty meal, Yifan comes back with foods that he thinks Junmyeon might enjoy; a pack of a tuna sandwich and an egg sandwich, a pear, and of course, Junmyeon’s all time favourite banana milk. The cafeteria doesn’t sell the banana milk but Yifan doesn’t mind going the extra mile just to get it for his crush.

When he opens the door to his room, however, he is greeted with a scene he didn’t expect to see. Sitting on the sofa where he slept this morning is none other than his love rival, former Engineering Moon, Jung Taekwoon. Like a tiger finding a lion lounging around freely in the tiger’s den, Yifan is on edge for clear reasons. Taekwoon seems to have noticed the presence of the room’s tenant yet he doesn’t rush up to stand up or even greet Yifan. Instead he stays on the couch as if he belongs there. As if the lion belongs on the tiger’s throne.

The sound of the running shower grabs Yifan’s attention, but not enough for Yifan to take his eyes off the other sophomore. No doubt there is someone taking a shower right now and it can only be either Junmyeon or Chanyeol. Yifan couldn’t care less if it’s Chanyeol but if it’s Junmyeon, having Taekwoon here irks him more than he’d like to admit.

Yifan takes slow, deliberate steps towards the table to put down the breakfast he just bought where he notices that there’s already some triangle kimbap and banana milk sitting there. An offering similar to his. His eyebrow rises in annoyance.

“What are you doing here?” Yifan asks, conveniently skipping the greeting; there’s no need to be nice when both of them know _exactly_ what is going on here.

“Running an errand for Chanyeol. He spent the night with us.” Taekwoon also doesn’t bother with the superficial pleasantries, casually answering as if he doesn’t get the tension brewing in the room right now.

Yifan feels the a fire from within surfacing beneath his skin upon realizing that it is indeed Junmyeon who is the one using the shower right now. No, Junmyeon is not his property; of course not. But love makes people unreasonable.

Yifan puts both his hands into his pockets, trying to look unperturbed, but there’s a hint of growl in his voice when he tells Taekwoon, “Then you should get it, and go.” He doesn’t realize he is clenching both his fists when he does so.

Taekwoon gives an awkward smile, getting the message that he is unwelcome in the space. But then smile turns into a smirk. “That’s not the only reason I’m here.” He then leans back against the sofa. Yifan tries not the be riled up by the seemingly laid back attitude Taekwoon is showing. This is his den; his territory.

They settle for a silent gaze battle—Yifan standing at the doorway, Taekwoon on the other side of the room. Behind them are a tiger and a lion, growling at each other while circling the room, creating a vortex of tension in the middle. It continues for what feels like hours—but in reality it is just mere seconds—when the muffled sound of the shower stops. The last drop from the shower breaks the strain, then there are a few small footsteps in the bathroom. The door of the bathroom creaks opens slightly.

“Chanyeol- _ah_ ,” Junmyeon calls in distress, not knowing Chanyeol’s not there. “Can you get me a towel please?”

Yifan’s eyes zero in on the towel that he put on the bed. Thanks to his long legs and fast reflexes from basketball, he reaches for it in no time. But Yifan is not the only one with fast reflexes. When Yifan lifts the towel off the bed, Taekwoon already has his hand on the other end. Another battle commences between them; this time a tug-of-war. Neither of them are willing to let go.

“ _Yah_ , Park Chanyeol! Chany—ack, he’s not here...”

More footsteps, and then the bathroom door opens wider. And so do both Yifan and Taekwoon’s eyes.)

 

~*~

 

Junmyeon doesn’t realise when he falls asleep but he remembers that not long after he had let Bomi into his room, Bomi had to excuse herself to receive a call. He had slept so much earlier in the day but he felt so very tired at the time. His heart and his mind were tired.

He dreamt of a room with soft yellow walls and a large window looking out to a vast, sapphire ocean. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, peacefully taking in the beautiful view. He sat there and just did nothing. The sun never set there in his dream; the sun was always bright, the ocean always glimmered. Then there was a voice calling for him and telling him to wake up. Junmyeon wanted to, but the bed was getting softer and softer, until he tipped back into the bed and was swallowed by the mattress. He reached out his hand and then an invisible hand grabbed onto his, pulling him out. He went back to sitting on the edge of the bed as if nothing had happened just then. Junmyeon heard the same voice; soft like a lullaby; telling him something. But this gentle voice lulled him back to sleep, and so he fell back on the bed.

When Junmyeon finally does wake up, the sun is already up in the sky and the curtains are drawn. Junmyeon stretches out his limbs with a loud groan, making a starfish on the large bed. There is no blanket to kicked off, yet he feels so warm. A particular spot on his neck is begging to be itched, and so Junmyeon’s fingers act on their own only to meet with a layer of fabric. Junmyeon sees black at the corner of his eyes, and when he realizes it that he actually fell asleep in Yifan’s black hoodie, Junmyeon springs up in surprise.

Junmyeon looks around the room, expecting someone to pop out somewhere. However, there is no one in the room but himself. There isn’t any sound coming from the bathroom either. He checks the time on his phone. _Oh shit_ , he only has twenty minutes before his schedule starts. And he hasn’t had breakfast yet! Junmyeon rushes into the bathroom, completely missing the towel that had been placed on the bed.

It takes some time for Junmyeon to finish his personal hygiene routine, mainly because he is trying to recall his dream, but it’s long gone from his mind. Only after he has finished showering does he realize that forgot a towel or even clothes to change into. Junmyeon looks around for a towel, but he’s out of luck.

Junmyeon pushes the door open a little and shouts out for help from Chanyeol before remembering that he’s the only one in the room. He decides to give up and puts on his boxers from the night before to venture out for a towel to dry his hair. He doesn’t think much when he opens the bathroom door wide and heads to the built-in wardrobe right in front of the bathroom. _Aha!_ There are two towels hanging by the hangers in the wardrobe. He doesn’t know who used them before him, but it’s better than nothing, so Junmyeon just grabs one and starts to pat his wet hair.

Junmyeon then bends down to grab his bag in the bottom compartment and takes out some clothes for the day. He dries his hair with the towel, and he is about to take off his boxers right then and there because he doesn’t have much time left. He stops his action when he notices the door handle moving.

Then there is a loud thud.

 

~*~

 

(There are no sounds coming from either Taekwoon or Yifan—not even a gasp.

Junmyeon, clad in boxers and boxers only, emerges from the bathroom. Yifan, like any other normal human, doesn’t have slo-mo mode for vision but he swears he can see each droplets of water dripping from the ends of Junmyeon’s hair, running rivulets down his pale back. Yifan knows that Junmyeon’s skin is fair, but to see that much skin being exposed is just beyond Yifan’s wildest imagination. Junmyeon skin is like alabaster; absolutely flawless.

When Junmyeon slings a towel over his head, Yifan gets some time to arrange his mind properly. _You’re going to be a doctor, Wu!_ He has seen a lot of bodies, and will continue doing so throughout his study and career in the future. So he should calm down. _It’s just another body, a body belongs to a person you romantically interested on and for fuck’s sake he’s bending down. Oh my god that ass. Oh my god. Wu Yifan, you’re fucked for life._

And just when Yifan thinks that he has enough exposure for the day, Junmyeon’s hands move to his slim waist, thumbing the elastic band of his boxers. Yifan pulls his side of the towel tighter only to be met with resistance from Taekwoon. That’s when Junmyeon seems to realize that he is not the only one the room. So Yifan does what he has to do to.

Yifan throws his end of the towel onto Taekwoon’s face to block his vision and then as swift as a tiger, he pounces onto Taekwoon, causing both of them to fall onto the bed.

“OOF!”

The resulting thud is so loud, it’s impossible for Junmyeon not to notice them anymore.

“ _Wow._ Been wondering where they’ve been, but here they are.” Yifan hears a familiar low pitched voice that belongs to the one and only Park Chanyeol. Both of them turn to the doorway to see Chanyeol standing beside the half-naked Junmyeon. _Since when is he here?_

Chanyeol then chases Junmyeon away into the bathroom, telling him to get ready there. But Chanyeol doesn’t stop there; he gets the key from Taekwoon then chases away the Moons from the room as well, leaving them at the door with a request to notify the other crew members that both Junmyeon and Chanyeol would be a bit late, and “If you want to fight each other, I know someone that owns a ring. Go fight there.”

Once they are out of the privacy of the room, both of them try to pretend that nothing had happened in the room. A group of girls walk past them after giving a short greeting—Yifan still manages to give a small smile, but Taekwoon is not able to do so. From the crease on the Engineering Moon’s forehead and the hiss that escapes his lips, Yifan knows that he did overreact just now.

“Yah,” Taekwoon groans. “What was that? Do I look like a punching bag to you?”

Yifan does feel sorry for being like that; he's training to be a doctor but there he goes, inflicting pain on others. He's turning ugly from all the jealousy—no, envy. Jealousy is when Junmyeon gets taken away, but Junmyeon isn’t his to begin with.

“I…I freaked out. Sorry.”

“And your immediate response to that is tackling me?”

“Hey, I'd rather tackle you than Junjun.” Yifan defends himself even though his answer doesn't make sense. Weirdly enough Taekwoon doesn't retort regardless. “Do you…” Yifan clears his throat. This is hard to do. “Do you like Junjun?”

Taekwoon’s face brightens suddenly at the mention of Junmyeon’s name. Yifan feels bitterness in his throat. “Is it obvious?”

 _Yes it’s obvious!_ Yifan wants to shout. _And I liked him first. You don’t have the right._ But then he thinks; he too doesn’t have the right. Love is all about timing and as far as he knows, Taekwoon is far ahead of him.

He wants to get to Junmyeon’s heart first. But how?)

 

~*~

 

_“...mostly sunny. Expect fifteen hours of sunshine today...”_

Junmyeon squints his eyes, looking at the bright sky from the window of the hotel room. It is really bright right now and will continue to be for the rest of the day. It’s a good day for outdoor photoshoots, but Junmyeon just can’t wait to get this whole thing over with. His straw makes a screechy slurping noise as he tries to get the last drop of banana milk from the bottom of the bottle.

“I know you love banana milk, but how come you only drink that and not eat anything else?” Chanyeol emerges from the bathroom then walks straight to the table, grabbing the sandwich from the paper bag. Junmyeon bites the end of the straw while ignoring his best friend’s nagging. “Look at this sad sandwich; it’s waiting to be eaten. Look, look, it’s crying.” Chanyeol contorts his face and lets out a crying noise while holding the edge of the sandwich, making it move side to side. The image of a tall, broad man with deep voice making a puppet out of a sandwich is a little repulsive in Junmyeon’s opinion.

“You eat it if you feel so sorry for the sandwich.” Junmyeon walks past his best friend to where the shoes arranged along the wall. He slips his feet into his sneakers, not caring about the flattened edges. He'll take care of that later as he walks.

“I had my breakfast already so no, thank you. And… ” Chanyeol puts the sandwich back in the bag and hands it to Junmyeon before grabbing their room card out of the sensor switch. He gestures for Junmyeon to go out first. “The _hyungs_ got those for you, not me.”

 _Hyung_ s? That explains why Taekwoon was in the room with Yifan and why there was more than one banana milk on the table. Junmyeon took the liberty to drink one because he thought that surely one of them was meant for him; he didn't know they were _all_ for him.

Junmyeon mutters ‘why though’ under his breath as they start to walk to the big garden, but Chanyeol catches it. Junmyeon gives a confused look at his best friend when Chanyeol starts to chuckle. Junmyeon then hears Chanyeol says in a teasing manner, “Maybe it's the payment for that private strip show you did for them just now.”

Junmyeon scoffs. “To have a show, you have to put something on display. I have nothing to show, obviously.”

“Hmm, I think the crowd that came for your show just now were more than happy. If I wasn't there, they would've asked for an encore.”

Junmyeon only shakes his head, his incisors further mutilating the now flat end of the straw. He would rather not delve into the delusion that his body is attractive in any way. He is just a boy with no shapely bosom or curves and his skin is sickeningly pale. What is there to look at? So he chooses to change the subject. “Why didn’t you come back to our room last night? Did you get so wasted you forgot your way back?”

Chanyeol vigorously denies it. “I barely finished one can! You know that I don’t really like beer, right? Besides, Minseok- _hyung_ offered it to me so how can I refuse?” Chanyeol is beaming so widely as the name of his crush breaks through his lips.

“The story doesn’t add up: if you weren’t drunk, then how come you didn’t get back last night?”

“Oh! That’s because I snoozed there for a while then I went to the gym. Gotta work off that fried chicken, you know. Also, I purposely left you two to spend some quality time alone. So how was it? Something must have happened.”

Junmyeon laughs in return—the absurdity of the whole situation that took place last night makes him react that way. “ _So_ many things happened last night; Chanyeol- _ah._ It's sad that you weren't there to see it since you like drama so much.” Chanyeol nods with a sad look on his face. “So… since you really want to know…” Chanyeol’s eagerness somehow amuses Junmyeon greatly—also Junmyeon is still a teeny bit mad at Chanyeol for leaving him alone with Yifan last night—so Junmyeon decides that it is the perfect time to tease his best friend. “ _See you next episode!_ ” Junmyeon imitates the ending note for TV shows, then quickly side steps to get away from his best friend.

“ _Yah,_ Kim Junmyeon! Don't be like that...” Chanyeol cries in frustration.

Junmyeon prances sideways so he will not miss even a second of Chanyeol’s exasperation while still keeping a good distance between them—those long legs can catch up with Junmyeon’s much shorter ones fast so a few steps ahead is enough advantage for Junmyeon to get away when necessary. But suddenly he bumps into someone completely unceremoniously, and Junmyeon apologizes before he can even see who it is.

“It’s okay, Junjun,” comes a familiar voice, and Junmyeon looks up to see that it’s Taekwoon.

“Oh, sorry, _hyung_ , I didn’t see you. I’m off to go get my makeup done for our photoshoot, I’ll see you later!”

“Wait,” Taekwoon grabs Junmyeon’s arm as Chanyeol continues walking (as if he’s so innocent) towards the makeup tent, leaving Junmyeon behind. “I...I need to tell you something. To clarify...about this morning.”

“Oh,” Junmyeon falters for a second. “Well, it’s okay! I know you brought me breakfast, thank you.” He chooses not to mention the wrestling match that had occurred between Taekwoon and Yifan. He gets in tussles with Chanyeol too, now and then, so it’s not worth harping on.

“It was nothing,” Taekwoon says. “I bought you the triangle kimbap. Was it good? I hope you like it.”

“Uh…” Junmyeon replies awkwardly. “Well, I didn’t eat either yet. I was in a hurry. But I’ll eat them! I promise.”

Taekwoon looks at Junmyeon like he wants to say something and it seems to be something important from the frown on his his face, but thinks better of it. “There is something that I really want to tell you but I think it’s not the right time to say anything yet,” he says. “I’ll... talk to you later, okay?” The pat on Junmyeon’s shoulder is rather soft. “It’s the last day, so good luck at the photoshoot, Junjun.” Junmyeon replies with a nod and a smile. Then in a split second Taekwoon’s becomes more serious. “Be sure to eat the kimbap first, okay?”

“O...kay,” Junmyeon replies. He remains confused as Taekwoon walks back towards the building Junmyeon had just come from. _Not the right time to say what? And why is it so important to eat the kimbap first?_ he wonders.

(Yifan, from afar, witnesses this interaction and figures that he’s been passed by Taekwoon yet again in their race for Junmyeon’s heart. Now is the time to pick up the pace.)

  
  


~*~

  
  


(Kibum stands at the side, watching the photographer reproach Junjun for his stiff looks in their promotional photos.

“This is not your first time in front of a camera, Junjun- _ah_. Why are you so bad today?”

The smile on Junmyeon’s beautiful face falters. “Sorry, I’ll do better this time.”

“Get your head straight, we won’t have much time for the next person if you keep this up.”

Now Junmyeon looks even more disheartened than before. At this rate, Junmyeon will never get a good cut from this shoot, thinks Kibum. “Myungsoo- _yah_ ,” Kibum calls to the student photographer, “let me talk to him for a second.”

Kibum takes Junmyeon’s hand and sits down with the freshman on the bench. “What’s the matter, Junjun? You’re always such a bright kid, but you doesn’t seem to be in good condition today.”

Junmyeon looks at Kibum with his round eyes. “Something happened last night that made me… unhappy, I guess. Maybe I just think too much and it all just mess me up. But I’ll be fine though, just have to—” Junmyeon cups both his cheeks and inhales grandly, making his shoulders bunch up before he exhales, “—just have to get my head straight.”

Kibum hums understandingly. “Now this is more like the Junjun that I know. I thought you didn’t get theme for this photoshoot at first.” The theme this time is ‘lovely,’ and Myungsoo demands not just a lovely pose or eyes or smile. Myungsoo wants the Moons and Stars to show the look of someone in love, and at that age, surely all of them must have that experience at least once.

“No, _sunbae_ ,” Junmyeon gives his habitual smile in response. “I get what it’s all about but I guess it just isn’t easy for me to portray right now.”

“Well, let’s play a mind game; I’ll get a good photo out of you in no time.” Kibum flashes a confident smile. Junmyeon does not seem to be too convinced, yet he still plays along when Kibum asks him to close his eyes.

Now, Kibum is not a qualified hypnotist, obviously. But from all the drama club meetings that he attended in high school, he is at least experienced in the department of imagination.

“Okay, let's make up a setting. Imagine yourself sitting in a cafe. You are about to go on a date with the one you like right now, so you put on your best attire.” Kibum observes the way Junmyeon’s eyebrows furrow and his lips slightly jut out as he concentrates on the mind game. He's into it, Kibum thinks. So fun. “Now you order a drink and then you wait for the order to arrive. While waiting, you think about all the things you want to talk to that person about, and all the things you have planned out for the day.” A smile breaks on the freshman’s serious face and his rosy cheeks are alive. Junmyeon is obviously very invested into this.

Kibum continues, “Suddenly you hear your name being called. You turn around. And you see that person.” Kibum hears a sharp inhale coming from the freshman. “Now, open your eyes slowly.”

Junmyeon does so, releasing the breath that he holds in together.

“Can you feel it now?” Kibum asks ambiguously, but he is sure Junmyeon understands.

A few minutes later, Myungsoo manages to get some of the ‘loveliest’ takes of Junmyeon that surely will get thousands of likes on Moon & Star official SNS account.

(Only after that exercise does Kibum notice that Junmyeon has that same look on his face whenever a certain ex-Moon is around.))  
  


~*~

 

The whole photoshoot and video PR shooting session ends a little after noon. All of them had already checked out before twelve o’clock, so all the suitcases are all piled at the lobby while the staff wrap up all the equipment. Most of the Moons and Stars spend their time after lunch hanging around at the lobby, waiting for the bus driver to bring the bus over to the waiting bay to load the luggage. Junmyeon does not eat his lunch, however; he would rather not go on a long ride on a full stomach. His late breakfast will keep his stomach just fine in the meantime, he reckons.

There is one more job Junmyeon has to complete however. All of the contestants have to take selfies for a ‘casual’ promotional picture, and since Junmyeon was the last to finish with video PR shooting, he is also the last one to get the Polaroid camera. The problem is that Junmyeon is not great at taking selfies, unlike his “Instaholic” best friend. Junmyeon asks Chanyeol for a few pointers, but Chanyeol drags him away from the lobby back onto the grounds, boasting out loud that he’ll easily make Junmyeon ‘the next best selfie taker (after me).’

Chanyeol drags Junmyeon to a small side garden, where the trees are dappling the ground with light and shadow. The whole garden is surrounded by a stone wall that makes it very private and quiet. It’s beautiful, and Junmyeon would be thrilled to be here if he didn’t have to take a photo of himself.

“The light is the best right now,” Chanyeol explains, handing Junmyeon the Polaroid camera. “I’m trying to make you look super good, since you’ll need an amazing picture to have any chance of beating me out..” Chanyeol sets Junmyeon up against the stone wall, scoping out the best angle for the picture. “You could have the trees’ shadow on your face, that’s very artistic. Or you could go in the bright sunlight against the wall right here, that would be good too.”

Chanyeol goes on to tell Junmyeon how to position the camera to get the best angle, but he ends up talking more pictures of himself. He even makes Junmyeon take some full shots of him (as per usual) and some of Junmyeon too (“It’s too pretty out here not to take some pictures, Junmyeon-ah. Now pose like one of those French girls.”) At this point Junmyeon knows that he has to chase Chanyeol away or he will never get his selfie taken.

“Okay now, thanks for helping me, _professor_ , but I think I can handle the challenge of taking a selfie. By myself. Alone. Please just let me take my picture in peace.”

Chanyeol rolls his eyes, telling Junmyeon that he has nothing to be insecure about and that he’s plenty cute, but Junmyeon shooes Chanyeol out of the garden. When Junmyeon is fully satisfied that Chanyeol has gone, he returns to his spot in the sun against the wall, just as Chanyeol had suggested. He takes out his phone and takes a few photos, trying to get an idea of how the Polaroid will turn out. _It’s not_ so _bad,_ he thinks. He throws up a peace sign for good measure as he takes the Polaroid photo. He sits down on the bench near the wall, just enjoying the flower garden as he waits for the photo to develop.

This place is truly beautiful, Junmyeon thinks to himself. The stone wall reminds Junmyeon of a European-style garden. He imagines how lovely it would be if there was a set of a rustic table and matching chairs so people can enjoy an evening tea while feasting their eyes on the view. Junmyeon knows he would like it a lot.

And Junmyeon knows that he would love to have someone else to share the tea with.

Honestly, when he thinks back to that moment when Kibum told him to imagine the person that he likes calling his name, without a slightest delay his mind chose to play Yifan’s voice calling him. Junmyeon suddenly feels warm all over. What is it about Yifan that makes Junmyeon feel this way even by a call of his name?

“Junmyeon?” Junmyeon smiles and doesn't even try to make it stop; he just lets it play and play. Until somebody steps into his line of vision.

Yifan is standing by the garden gate, peering into Junmyeon’s little sanctuary. The way the light shines from behind makes Yifan looks like he has emerged from a portal to another world, stepping into the mortal world where a humble Junmyeon resides.

“May I?” Yifan is now standing just a short distance away from him, asking for permission to occupy the space on the bench beside Junmyeon. He is using his low, soft voice again, the one that always makes Junmyeon wonder whether Yifan is being sincere or just being courteous.

“Alright,” Junmyeon acquiesces, scooting over on the bench so Yifan can sit. He places the still-developing photo on his other side.

“Taking a _selca_ for the promotions?” Yifan asks casually as he sits. “You found yourself a good spot to take a picture.”

“Nah, it was all Chanyeol. I rarely take selcas for obvious reasons.”

“What reason, if you don't mind me asking?”

Junmyeon bites his cheeks, regretting having revealed one of his insecurities. “There are… reasons,” Junmyeon mutters. Opening a topic on body image is the last thing Junmyeon wants to do right now.

Yifan gets the hint perfectly and changes the course of the conversation. “Anyway, did you like the sandwich from this morning?”

“Mm,” Junmyeon nods, recalling the egg salad sandwich. “I liked it a lot. Did you get that one for me? Taekwoon- _hyung_ did the same, and I feel like you guys are being too nice.”

Junmyeon half expects Yifan to brush off the “too nice” comment, but instead, he looks bothered, and Junmyeon wonders if he said something wrong.

“Do you like him?” asks Yifan. He sounds cold, like the way he was when Junmyeon met him on the first day of university. Junmyeon is bothered by the change of tone.

“Who?”

“Taekwoon,” Yifan says gruffly. Junmyeon nods, not thinking much of it.

“Yeah, he's a good _sunbae_. He’s nice to me. I like him.” he replies. Junmyeon watches as Yifan’s brow furrows a little more.

“No, I mean do you like him romantically?” Yifan clarifies, and Junmyeon bristles. He can’t tell if Yifan is asking if he’s gay, but it’s not something Junmyeon likes to just put out there. It’s not easy to admit so freely when he’s still kind of in the closet, and Junmyeon doesn’t know how to answer.

“Why are you asking, what is it to you?” Junmyeon replies defensively, getting up and walking back towards the wall. He is suddenly full of adrenaline and needs to shake it off.

But Yifan gets up too, following Junmyeon to the wall, and before he knows it, Junmyeon’s back is up against the wall, with Yifan standing in front of him. Yifan rests his hand against the wall, just above Junmyeon’s shoulder, and they’re close. Too close.

“I’m saying, I don’t want you to get close to him,” Yifan says in a low voice. “I don’t like it.”

Junmyeon is angry now. Who is Yifan to say this? Yifan, who never even looked his way once up until a few weeks ago, Yifan, who was rude to him until a few days ago. He doesn’t get a say. “Oh, come off it, you can’t tell me who to hang out with!” Junmyeon raises his voice, pushing Yifan’s much larger frame away from him. He might be smaller compared to Yifan, but that doesn't mean he is weaker. “All those years of me in the same school as you, being invisible to you that whole time, and now that you noticed me for no good reason at all, you suddenly think you can run my life? Tell me, really, what do you take me for, huh?”

Junmyeon waits for Yifan to say something. Anything. But it never comes. Yifan just stands right there, not getting any closer. There is a softness in his eyes that is so apparent but Junmyeon just doesn't understand. No, he doesn't _want_ to understand. If Yifan looks at Junmyeon like this, Yifan can look at other people the same way.

Junmyeon storms off, out of the garden, afraid that if he stays he’ll say something he doesn’t mean—or worse, something he does mean. His eyes are prickling but he'll blame it on the sun.

(Yifan notices the camera first, then the selca that lays forgotten on the bench. He stares at the image of Junmyeon: his round eyes, the shy smile, the cute pose. Memories of his school days suddenly flood into his mind.

“You were never invisible,” he mutters.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay!! Thanks everyone for being patient with us~


	8. 7.5회

(Yifan meandered his way through the school corridors, absentmindedly thinking about what he was going to eat for dinner. He just needed to grab a few papers from the music room and then he could head home.

As he approached the music room, something caught his attention. It was just a glimpse, but he could have sworn he had seen someone going through the door of the exit stairwell.

He followed, willing to delay his dinner to satisfy his curiosity.

Looking down the stairs, the boy he’d just seen had disappeared, and Yifan was starting to wonder if he’d really seen anything at all. It happened pretty frequently over the past few weeks, always nearly seeing a boy but then upon further investigation, realizing nobody was there.

He sighed softly, but it was no skin off his back. He turned back towards the corridor and he was about to open the door once again when he heard a whisper, and then a high-pitched sound that sounded just like a kitten’s mewls. There was no mistaking hearing that. Yifan turned back towards the stairwell, creeping down the stairs slowly until he got a good view of the boy who was there after all, crouching next to a cardboard box.

“Don’t cry,” the boy spoke into the box. “I don’t know when your mom is coming back, but I got you some tuna from home. I don’t have cat food; we have a dog at home.” He opened the can of tuna and took out a few little pieces carefully with his fingers. “I would take you home if I could, but my mom wouldn’t like it. And I don’t think Byeol will like it either. I’m sorry.” He sounded genuinely regretful as he continued to feed the kittens. He pulled a blanket out of his backpack too, placing it gingerly in the box.

Yifan watched as the boy left through the exit door, taking one wistful glance back at the kittens before leaving for good. As soon as he was alone, Yifan got up and looked in the box. Sure enough, there was a bowl of tuna and a bowl with milk sitting with the two kittens in the box.

So, the boy Yifan kept thinking he was seeing was real after all. But why did Yifan only ever get a glimpse?

From then onward, Yifan never ignored the shadow in the corner of his eye. He would follow it every time he thought he saw the boy, and every time, the boy would slip out of his line of sight and disappear, like the White Rabbit in _Alice in Wonderland_. Yifan started referring to the boy as the “little bunny,” always slipping out of his view.

  
  


~*~

 

It was during a basketball game that Yifan finally saw the boy’s face. He knew it was him, despite only seeing brief glimpses of him before.

When the game was over, Yifan had a one-track mind. He had to go speak to the bunny boy, but when he looked back to where the boy had been, he was gone, once again. Girls had started coming up to Yifan, complimenting him on the game and asking for pictures, and guys started to crowd around too, hoping to chat with that day’s star player. Yifan turned around, ducking away from the crowd, and to his surprise, there was the boy.

His eyes were bright and round, behind thick wire-rimmed glasses. As soon as they made eye contact, the boy bolted as if he’d been in Yifan’s way. Yifan didn’t even have time to ask the one question on his mind (“What’s your name?”), but someone else answered it for him.

“Yah, Myeonnie, where are you going?”

Myeonnie. What a cute name.

  
  


~*~

  
  


Yifan didn’t stop seeing Myeonnie in the corner of his vision, but he couldn’t figure out why Myeonnie always disappeared before Yifan could get close enough to speak to him. He wondered if maybe Myeonnie didn’t like him. Yifan was no stranger to being avoided; he knew his face sometimes could intimidate people. But that didn’t explain why Myeonnie seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at once. Yifan couldn’t stop thinking about it, about _him._

  
  


~*~

  
  


Yifan had become an expert at the “spot the bunny game” over the next few months. He could easily predict where Myeonnie would pop out, and he would pretend as if he couldn’t see the boy, even though he could feel the eyes on him. Once, when Yifan was walking past the shops lining the road to the school, he spotted Myeonnie sitting in the back of a car with the window rolled down, waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Yifan deliberately stopped at the snack shop and bought a pack of his favorite Pepero. He purposefully made small talk with the auntie at the register, waiting for the light to change too. Once it finally turned green, the cars still moved at a rather slow pace, so Yifan started to walk slowly too, watching the black car drive past the traffic light and disappear from his sight. It was getting interesting.

From that point onward, whenever he noticed Myeonnie was around, he would intentionally walk slower, talk louder, smile more. He would sometimes shift his line of vision and accidentally look in Myeonnie’s direction. Myeonnie would always flinch and hide behind a tree, or around a corner, or in the shadow of the tall friend he was always with. When that happened, Yifan would look away. He didn’t want to make Myeonnie more embarrassed than he already was, but it did truly remind Yifan of a startled rabbit.

 

~*~

 

It was the day before Yifan’s graduation and he decided that day that this time, he was going to talk to Myeonnie first. He was going to...confess. Yes. Yifan could only think of Myeonnie for most of the past few months, and even though he’d been busy with entrance exams and hadn’t had the time to search around for Myeonnie, he always felt like the little bunny’s presence was a good luck charm.

He planned to wait for Myeonnie at the gate after school, but before that, he spent the last few hours in high school with his best friends.

“Honestly, confessions on graduation day are inevitable,” Minseok had said. Yifan’s heart pounded, not having told his friends of his plan yet. “I bet you guys will get a lot of them.”

“Eh, you too though,” Yixing comments to Minseok. “Honestly, it’s less cringey when the girls confess. It’s so cheesy when guys go down on their knees in front of a girl and shout ‘WILL YOU GO ON A DATE WITH ME?’ Bonus weird points if they bring flowers.”

Yifan and Minseok laugh, and then Minseok turns to Yifan, looking a little more serious than he just had. “Hey, what if a guy did that to you? You know, the whole confessing thing.”

“I don’t like guys that way,” Yifan answered with ease. It was mostly the truth after all; he had never seen any male in a romantic way. Not until Myeonnie.

“Really? Are you sure?” Minseok said with a less than perfect satoori, copying a line from a famous movie.Yifan played along and replied “Don’t be stupid, you guys know me” in the firm tone of the other character in the movie.

“Okay so theoretically, if a guy confessed to you, you would just reject him? You wouldn’t even give him a chance?” Yixing asked in all earnesty, still not getting the play-acting that was happening between Minseok and Yifan.

“Of course not,” Yifan kept on with the stoic persona of the character in the movie. “It honestly makes me a bit sick just thinking about it.”

Yixing gawked at his Yifan, seemingly doubting his ears. Yifan shared a look with Minseok for a moment and then they both doubled over in laughter.

_CRASH!_

Their laughter stopped for a moment as they heard a loud commotion just outside the room, and then a tabby cat leisurely waltzed through the back door of the class. It was one of the kittens that Myeonnie—and Yifan, too, whenever Yifan could—had taken care of. It still remained in the school after it grew up. Yifan walked over to the cat and gingerly grabbed its upper body with his large hands then held it gently against his chest. Minseok walked over to Yifan to coo at the adorable creature.

“Silly cat, knocking things over in the hallway,” he said, stroking the cat’s head as he walked back towards his friends. “And Yixing, seriously, it was from a movie.” Yifan handed over the cat to Minseok, to which Minseok gladly opened his arms to. “I’m not that mean. If a guy confessed to me I would actually be nice about it.”

“I wouldn’t know,” answered Yixing. “First you said you like someone—who turned out to be a boy nevertheless—so to hear you say you don’t like boys and even the idea of getting confessed by males confused me! So excuse me if I mark you down as an asshole.”

“Well, to be fair, I only like one boy. And if I ever get a confession, be it a guy or a girl, I’ll listen. But most likely I’ll reject them.”

“Why is that so?” asked Yixing.

“Because by that time I’m not going to be available anymore,” Yifan said smugly. “Which reminds me, I have someone to confess to right now.” Yifan took the cat from Minseok. “Come, let’s go meet your appa.” (“Wah… He’s finally gone crazy,” Yixing said. Minseok nodded along.)

Right after Yifan passed the door, he caught a sight of a lilac coloured envelope on the ground. With the intention to place the litter into the bin, Yifan bent down to pick it up when he caught a glimpse of writing on the back of the paper. Yifan turned the paper over.

 

> _To Wu Yifan sunbaenim:_
> 
> _My mind wanders a lot. And it always finds its way to you._
> 
> _I like you._
> 
> _From: Kim Junmyeon_

 

Yifan could hear the blood rushing in his ears; his brain went into overdrive. He recalled the conversation they had in the class, the clattering sound, and the note on the floor.

Yifan started to piece together exactly what Myeonnie must have heard...what it must have sounded like.

_Holy shit._

Yifan dashed as fast as his legs could carry him to the gate of the school where he was supposed to catch Myeonnie. He caught the sight of the black car that he knew by heart in the road and ran towards it, hoping he would get to it before the red light changed to green.

But the light turned green, and the car drove away.

 

 

~*~

 

  
On graduation day, Myeonnie didn’t come to school.

Yifan never got to confess, and Myeonnie never got to give an answer.

It was Yifan’s biggest regret.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for your patience ;;;; we're two adults with full-time jobs living in time zones that are 13 hours apart so finding time for fic writing can be tough! We'll keep working hard to finish the story, we promise! Thanks for reading <3


	9. 8회

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY ALMOST NEW YEAR and thanks for being patient with the long wait!! If you want to tweet about this chapter or the rest of the fic, we'd love if you used the hashtag #fanmyeonmoonbeam so that we can interact with readers!!

(“It’s about time to leave…I’ll just make sure that everyone is on the bus, then we can go.” The female staff member tells the driver and then walks up to stand in the aisle. “Is everyone here already? Please look out for your seatmate—if anyone is missing, immediately inform us.”

Offbeat voices answer her—a few with louder voices shout out “let’s go!”

“Ok let’s—”

“Present!” Junmyeon rushes onto the bus. Chanyeol turns to the front from his seat at the back of the bus, surprised to see his best friend on the bus. What is Junmyeon doing here? Isn’t he supposed to ride with the medical trio?

There is an exchange between the staff and Junmyeon before Junmyeon seats himself in the frontmost seat. Chanyeol takes the chance to dash towards the seat beside Junmyeon.

“ _Yah_ , what are you doing here?” Chanyeol unceremoniously flops on the seat beside Junmyeon.

“What are you talking about? I was meant to ride on this bus from day one.” Chanyeol catches the forced nonchalance in Junmyeon’s voice.

“Yeah but…you sure? What if you get sick again?”

“I’ll be fine!” Junmyeon huffs. “I’ll make sure of that.”

In all this years of friendship with Kim Junmyeon, Chanyeol knows that there are some times when Junmyeon is being stubborn; and now is one of those times.

“Okay then…I’ll be in the back.” Chanyeol goes back to his crowd and takes his seat, still curious as of why Junmyeon wants to ride on the bus. Junmyeon could’ve taken the medical trio’s car, or even Taekwoon’s, but he chose to ride this bus that won’t show any mercy to his tender stomach—and Chanyeol knows better than to force his best friend to talk when he is not ready.

He’ll wait for Junmyeon to tell him later.)

  
  


~*~

 

 

(The thrumming sound from the bus engine revving fills the background. The bus then leaves the compound and the thrums grows fainter and fainter through the distance. Minseok watches on, standing beside the passenger side of their rented car while Yixing sits in the the driver’s seat, waiting for their best friend.

Minseok is the first to notice Yifan coming from a stone pathway that leads to the small garden—the same pathway Junmyeon emerged from just now. From the slightly slumped shoulders and the grim expression, Minseok has more than enough reason to deduce that things didn't go well between Yifan and Junmyeon.

“Ready to go?” Minseok asks.

Yifan looks around. “Where’s—”

“—Junmyeon?” Minseok cuts him off, knowing exactly what’s always on Yifan’s mind. “He took his luggage out of the trunk and rode the bus.”

There’s nothing but a sigh coming from Yifan; he just gets into the back seat and dumps the his stuff and himself onto back seat then sits there silently.

_How much did he fuck up to be in this state?_ Minseok taps the roof to an vague rhythm, wondering to himself before getting in on the passenger side.)

  
  


~*~

 

 

Sitting in the most front seat is really working for Junmyeon now. He doesn’t feel queasy at all because he has not eaten anything yet—which means no stomach contents lurching around—and also, the view is truly magnificent. Yellow, red, brown; all the warm hues in between spread across the landscape flashing by and he wonders to himself why he didn’t get to see this before.

Ah, now he remembers.

And along with the recollection of him being sick on the first day, he also recalls the memory of being under the ‘special’ care of a certain person. He can’t lie; it really was nice.

But Junmyeon is more confused than ever right now.

_“I’m saying, I don’t want you to get close to him. I don’t like it.”_

What was that, really? It sounds like a confession, but also a demand; and no one can tell Junmyeon what to do with his life.

_Wu Yifan…First you acted hostile with me, then you treated me so nicely and now…This?_

And then it also hits Junmyeon that he too, in a sense, had accidentally slipped out Yifan should’ve not known—that he had been waiting for Yifan to notice him back in high school.

Ahhh…His stomach is empty but his mind is filled with a complex concoction of negative emotions. He just wants to go back quickly so he can eat something and then sleep with his stomach full and his head empty from any worrying thoughts.

 

~*~

 

(The silence is stifling. Minseok wants to talk, but Yixing is keeping his eyes on the road and Minseok doesn’t want to distract him. Besides, it’s not easy to strike a light-hearted conversation when your best friend is being pouty and mopey in the back seat.

So instead, Minseok turns to the radio for some mood-boosting. “Let’s listen to some music!” Minseok tries out a cheerful tone, completely forgetting the season and all the breakup songs associated with it.

After eight times changing stations, Minseok jabs the off button in vain. At the end of his wits, he turns back to Yifan to see his best friend still lost in his own melancholy. “Are you going to keep on moping like that?” Yifan doesn’t respond; instead he leans back on the seat, looking out the window. Minseok gives up.

“ _How_ exactly did you fuck up, Yifan- _ah_ …” Yixing laments, his dimples showing and lip corners rising out of habit, not because is not amused—no one would be after seeing a certain freshman on the verge of crying an hour prior.

A loud sigh comes from the back seat. “He told me that he was invisible. He thought I never cared about him before when—when he was the only one I could see…even back then.”

Yixing hums in monotone. “Did you tell him about that? About you noticing him way back in high school?”

Again, Yifan didn’t answer.

“Well look at that! Of course you didn’t. If you had, Junmyeon wouldn’t have come to us crying just now.” Yixing sounds serious—his voice is stronger yet still controlled. But words can be as sharp as a knife, and Minseok is sure that they hit Yifan right in the heart. “If you really love someone, you won’t make that person cry.”

Out of concern—even though he told himself not to care just minutes ago—Minseok glances at the rear-view mirror again. Yifan is now holding the Polaroid picture and is staring at it with a look on his face. It hurts to see his best friend like that.

“If it’s hard for you to tell him straight away, maybe you can tell him in another way? Write a letter like old times—or just by text! Anything! ” Minseok offers a solution. “As long as he knows. Isn’t that better than nothing?”

Yixing somehow chooses to turn on the radio at this moment and Minseok waits in horror, dreading hearing the wrong song at the wrong time. But miraculously, the radio plays a popular pop song, and as much as the melody doesn’t fit the current mood in the car, the lyrics are filled with hopeful and encouraging words about a love confession.

Minseok feels a tap on his shoulder.

“Hey, can you give me his number?”

Minseok—and Yixing too—looks at Yifan incredulously. “You haven’t saved his number?”

“Didn’t want to drunk call him like I did that one day,” Yifan explains half-heartedly, seemingly embarrassed by his action.

“You did? When?” Minseok probes more.

“There’s…one time…” Yifan trails off. “Just give me his number, will you?” he then gestures for Minseok to just quickly give the number.

Minseok shares a look with Yixing then breaks into laughter. “Go forth, my dear brother,” Minseok sends Yifan his number, “for never was a story of more woe than this of Junmyeon and his…Fan-meo.” Yifan doesn’t give pay any attention to their mockery, because Yifan has what he wants.

“All is fair in love and war,” Yixing chimes in.

“Yeah… That’s not Shakespeare.”

“Pedantic ass,” Yixing shrugs.)

 

~*~  
  
  


He feels weird about what just happened with Yifan; it was almost like a confession, but it felt so final. He frowns, still staring out the window.

His phone buzzes with the familiar “katalk!” and he unlocks his phone to see that someone with a pic of the backside of a navy coloured jersey with the number 11 as the display picture—Junmyeon only knows one person with that jersey number—has sent him a sticker of a cat peeking out from the wall.

  
  


Galaxy90: Excuse me, mister

Galaxy90: You left this just now

There’s a picture attached.

Galaxy90: What shall I do with this?

A sticker of a finger points up towards the picture the sender attached.

Junmyeon looks at the picture closely. It was a picture of a Polaroid camera with his self-taken picture on a leather seat. The message was undoubtedly from Yifan but the stickers are quite…out of his character. Is he always like this when he chats?

Junmyeon thinks of the reply he should send. Not answering is always an option but Yifan already knows that Junmyeon has seen the whole message. Better to reply in a curt manner, Junmyeon thinks.

Junmyeon: Do what you want with it, _sunbae-nim_

The ping comes in an instant with a picture of a surprised dog.

Galaxy90: I thought you wouldn’t reply

Junmyeon: If you want to talk about something else other than the competition, then don’t, sunbae-nim.

Galaxy90: I guess you are still mad at me...

Yifan sends a sticker of a cat sobbing on the floor.

Mad? That is not the only thing Junmyeon feels right now. He is livid, disappointed, confused. But Yifan doesn’t deserve to know that. And so, Junmyeon decides that there is no reason to tell that to the person who caused all this heartache in the first place. He puts the phone right in the side pocket of his backpack, trying to forget that it’s even there.

But the phone doesn’t want to let him to forget its existence.

_Katalk! Katalk! Katalk!_

Junmyeon drags down the notification bar. It’s still Yifan. Junmyeon clears the bar and puts the phone on mute. He would like to get some shut-eye without any distraction; especially from Yifan. But Junmyeon just can’t find any comfortable position to sleep in—fuck Yifan and his dreamy thighs—and to be quite honest he is curious about the rest of the texts Yifan sent him. _No no no no_ , Junmyeon tells himself. _You don’t want to look easy. You are_ not _easy. Let him wait._

But what Junmyeon still doesn’t get is the universe has a very special way to fuck him over—somehow Yifan sends yet another message, and Junmyeon’s finger unconsciously taps the the pop up notification.

The whole chatroom appears before him at once. The latest bubble contained the message “Should I do whatever I want with this too?” Junmyeon dismisses that, then scrolls up—but then his thumb stops on a picture that was sent by Yifan.

Of the note Junmyeon had written to Yifan back in high school.

Junmyeon bristles, sitting up straight in his seat.

What? _What_? Yifan saw the note? Yifan _had_ the note?

Just to be sure, he taps on the thumbnail.

  
  


_To Wu Yifan sunbaenim:_

_My mind wanders a lot. And it always finds its way to you._

_I like you._

_From: Kim Junmyeon_

  
  


It’s real. Those strokes, that beige paper, that lilac envelope—they were sitting in his bag for days, nestling between the sheets of his exercise book—waiting to be presented to his one and only love.

But Junmyeon never got to give it to him. At least from what he remembers. So how did it end up in Yifan’s possession?

Junmyeon takes some deep breaths and tries to calm down. This time, he reads the bubbles sent by Yifan one by one.

Galaxy90: To be honest I didn’t know what came over me

Galaxy90: I’m really sorry

Then there’s a sticker of a dog kneeling.

Galaxy90: You know…

Galaxy90: This is not the first time you left something behind

There’s the picture.

Galaxy90: You left this too

Galaxy90: Should I do whatever I want with too?

  
  


~*~

  
  


(Junmyeon: YOUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yifan giggles at the arrays of stickers in different designs and different animal caricatures popping up on Yifan’s phone—all of them either have large veins bulging on the head or the head itself exploding.

Mad bunny is still cute.

Junmyeon: WHATEVER YOU’RE THINKING OF DOING

Junmyeon: DON’T

Junmyeon: DO

Junmyeon: IT

Yifan laughs even more at the ‘threat’ Junmyeon gave to him. (Minseok is already looking at him suspiciously.)

Yifan: How do you know what I have in mind?

He sends a photo of a dog snickering.

He can see that Junmyeon is still typing, but no replies pop into the chatroom. Yifan knows that he should take the chance now to tell Junmyeon what is on his mind before he misses the timing.

Yifan: Go out with me tonight

Yifan: Give me a chance to clear things up

Yifan: Please?

The ‘typing’ from the other end stops. Then there’s a reply.

Junmyeon: Are you asking me out?

Yifan: Obviously.

Junmyeon: What if I say no

Yifan: Then it’s an order

Yifan: Because you, Kim Junmyeon from Class 2, are still my servant

Yifan: Okay?

Junmyeon’s reply of a sticker with a character facing a wall behind him is enough to incite a gleeful grin on Yifan’s face.

Yifan: See you tonight.)

  
  


 

~*~

 

Junmyeon peeks his head out from the door and scans the surroundings for the presence of that particular Moon he wants to avoid before alighting from the bus. He rushes to the luggage compartment to get his luggage but the driver is not there yet to open the cache. He starts to bounce on his toes anxiously. When the cache is opened, Junmyeon goes for his bag first—which is easy to spot since it was the last bag that was shoved in there—when someone’s hand grabs his bag before him.

That _someone_ turns to be no other than Yifan.

“Wha—Hey, that’s _my_ bag!”

“I know.” Yifan states while getting the bag out from atop the pile. “And _hyung_ here is helping you to get it out.”

Junmyeon wants to wrestle it from Yifan, but the other students already alighted from the bus and are making a beeline towards the luggage cache: Junmyeon doesn’t want to make a scene.

“I don’t need _sunbae_ ’s help; I can do it myself.” Junmyeon trots to match Yifan’s larger stride and without Junmyeon realizes, they have now arrived in the lobby of their dorm in no time. As they wait for the elevator to come down, Junmyeon takes the chance to take the luggage by the handle, but Yifan’s big hand already occupies most of the space. Junmyeon pries the long fingers away and when he has two more to go, Yifan jerks the luggage away, making Junmyeon move forward from the impact.

“Call me _hyung._ ”

Junmyeon looks at him in bewilderment. “Huh?”

“Is it really hard to call me _hyung_?”

Junmyeon shows his defiance clearly. “I don’t feel the need to call you that.”

Yifan gets closer to him, lowering his head a bit. “I _want_ you to call me that.”

The sensation that Junmyeon experiences right now, tingly, shivers at his nape—the same feeling as the one he felt that night in Gangwon-do—comes back to him.

It usually takes a nearly a minute to reach Junmyeon’s floor but it feels longer that it should, now that he is in the same space as Yifan. And the fact that Yifan is staring straight at him from the corner just makes Junmyeon squirm. When they arrive at Junmyeon’s floor, Junmyeon gets ahold of the luggage handle and dashes through the door. But he doesn’t get to go too far because again, Yifan, with his long legs, catches up in no time.

“You’re coming down for dinner with me after this, right?” Yifan asks.

Junmyeon doesn’t answer, only focusing on unlocking his door. When he tries to wheel the luggage in, he is met with some resistance.

“Give me a chance,” Yifan holds on the luggage. “I need to explain.”

“About what?” Junmyeon gives up on the luggage. If that’s how Yifan wants to play then be it—Junmyeon is not going to play along. He is just so, _so_ tired from all thi—

“About me having fallen for you a long time ago.”

_What?_

Junmyeon forgets to breathe for a moment. The sentence that came out of Yifan’s mouth is too hard for his brain to process—he just cannot associate Yifan with falling for someone, moreover that someone being Junmyeon.

“Go out with me, please?” pleads Yifan.

This just doesn’t seem real.

  
  


~*~

  
  


( _He must be starving,_ Yifan thinks to himself. Judging from his past experience with eating out with Junmyeon—albeit only once—Yifan had assumed that Junmyeon was not really a big eater. But Junmyeon who is sitting right now has already stacked four plates of sushi while Yifan is still deciding what to order on the menu.

“You didn’t have lunch today?” asks Yifan after he confirms his order on the touch screen, still amazed at Junmyeon grabbing his sixth plate from the conveyor belt.

“A di’n” answers Junmyeon with his lips pursed and cheeks full. A few more chews and then his full cheeks deflate. Watching Junmyeon eat is truly interesting, Yifan decides. “Which is a good thing,” Junmyeon continues. He stacks one plate, and takes one more. “If I ate, I surely would have been sick on the bus again.”

That sparks a memory in Yifan’s brain. “If that happens, hyung can take care of you again.”

_Oh?_ Junmyeon stops chewing and glares at Yifan for a full second. Yifan expects for a verbal response to follow, but it never comes. Instead Junmyeon just continues eating. Yifan feels that this is a good time to plead his case.

“So…About what happened today…I want to apologize. I stepped over the line and I...I really shouldn’t have done that.”

Again, Junmyeon replies with silence. There is one more piece of fish roe sushi on the plate but Junmyeon has stopped eating altogether now, which worries Yifan more.

“That…” Junmyeon suddenly starts. “That thing that you said to me before…is it true?”

“Which thing?” Yifan has said a lot to Junmyeon today and most of them haven’t come out that good, so Yifan doesn’t want to take a stab in the dark just to make it worse.

“About you…you…” Junmyeon’s face doesn’t show any kind of negative feeling; instead Junmyeon looks sheepish for some reason. _Ah, that thing._

“About me liking you for a long time?” Yifan confidently offers his guess. Junmyeon’s cheeks blooming in a pink tinge confirms that he hit the target. “That’s one hundred percent true.” Junmyeon resorts to hiding his reddening face behind his hands now, and Yifan too is rather embarrassed by his own direct confession. But that confession is too long overdue and Yifan doesn’t want to feel the same regret as he did before.

“Did I take you by surprise when I said that?” (Junmyeon’s small nod answers that question.)

“Hnggg…” Yifan hears a whine behind the hands. “I really don’t want to cry in a sushi place,” Junmyeon whines some more. Yifan moves from his place and sits beside Junmyeon as an effort to shield crying Junmyeon from public eye.

“I’m sorry…Please don’t cry.” Yifan pulls out a tissue from the holder and offers it to Junmyeon.

“Who says I’m crying?” Junmyeon reveals his still red face. True to what Junmyeon says, there are no tears falling down his face, but his glassy eyes are too obvious to be missed.

“You can cry if you want; _hyung_ can wipe your tears for you.”

Junmyeon stares at him. “You’re using _that_ line in this situation?” Junmyeon heaves, probably from the ridiculousness of Yifan’s excellent timing for pick-up line execution. “I can’t believe you.” A smile finally cracks on Junmyeon’s face, and that is all Yifan wants.

Yifan’s order of tonkotsu ramen finally arrives. When the waiter leaves, Junmyeon looks at Yifan. “Why are you still not going back to your seat?”

“Because I want to stay by your side.” Yifan answers promptly.

“Oh my go—is that how you do it? Is that how you get all those girls; sweet-talking like this?”

Yifan shrugs, “You’re not a girl, so I don’t know about that.”

“Wow,” Junmyeon exclaims. “Are you openly try to woo me right now?”

“Obviously,” Yifan replies in all honesty. “Is it working?”

Junmyeon puts on a coy little smile and Yifan tries his best not to pinch those cute cheeks. “Let’s see how it goes.”

They both then continue to eat. A few bites into the ramen however, he notices Junmyeon staring off into the distance, not touching the fish roe sushi on his plate. “What are you thinking about?” he asks.

“No matter how much I think about it, I still can’t figure out how that note ended up with you.”

Yifan thinks about how to properly answer Junmyeon’s curiosity. Telling Junmyeon that he picked it up from the floor is a bit…distasteful. “The cat showed me,” he tells Junmyeon instead.

“Cat?”

“Yeah. Remember, high school? That spotted cat that liked to hang out by the stairway? That’s the one.”

“Oh! Boss!” Junmyeon perks up. “I remember it! It was the strongest out of their siblings, so I called it Boss. I used to give them food when they were kittens, but most of them went away and only Boss was left at school.”

“I know,” says Yifan; his voice mellow. “I told you already, I had noticed you very early on. Only you didn’t know.”

“Oh, then why is it you treated me so bad the very moment I stepped my foot into this university?” Junmyeon interrogates him.

Oh shit. Here comes _that_ question. Yifan feels like he’s being questioned about a crime. “Uh…” Yifan feels the stutter coming out, so he tries not to think too much and tells the truth rather than wrapping the sentence nicely. “At the time, I didn’t know it was you, to be honest. I had the image of you from before stuck in my head all that time so…uh…to process the ‘you’ right now and ‘you’ back then as the same person all along took...longer than I’d like to admit.”

Junmyeon has been listening intently to Yifan’s explanation. “I see…but did I really change that much? My eyes, nose, lips are still the same. Minseok- _hyung_ recognized me in a snap. Why didn’t you?”

He twists aside to look at Junmyeon straight on. “You see, it’s not just physical. Your overall presence is just...it’s _different._ See, you always ran away from me back in high school but that day you actually stood your ground in front of me! And I thought, ‘ah, maybe it’s not you after all’ but then…I was very confused at the time.”

“But still,” Junmyeon continues, “you’ve been pretty mean to me...” Junmyeon seems to have a lot more to say, yet the sentence just trails off to nothing.

Yifan apologizes for ever making Junmyeon feel sad. The nod that Junmyeon gives contradicts his glum expression. Yifan wants to make things right.

“You know…since we started off on the wrong foot, maybe we should trace our steps back and start from the beginning.”

Junmyeon looks at him doubtfully. “…How?”

Yifan clears his throat and sits a little straighter. He prepares his ‘formal’ voice and then starts, “Hello, my name is Wu Yifan from Cheon-guk High School, Class 1 year 2014. How about you?”

Junmyeon bursts out laughing; which is good, Yifan guesses. “What was _that_? Do I have to do that?”

“Yes,” Yifan answers, still in his fake formal voice. “It’s only fair.”

Junmyeon clears his throat while trying to suppress his laughter. “Umm…I’m Kim Junmyeon. From Cheon-guk High School. Class 2, year 2015. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Yifan replies, and then they both shake hands before Yifan lets out a groan out of embarrassment. Just because it was his suggestion doesn’t make it any less awkward. Junmyeon too, lets out the laughter he had been holding in.

“If only we started like this,” Junmyeon sighs. “If I had known you liked me too, I wouldn’t have been so self-conscious.”

“Why is that?” Yifan is truly curious.

Junmyeon huffs, “If you haven’t noticed, a lot of people who were much better looking than me wanted you for themselves. Isn’t it unbelievable that someone like me would ever have a chance with you?”

“I don’t think so, because those people didn’t catch my eyes; _you_ did. And you stayed in my heart for quite a long time,” Yifan puts his view in the picture. “I’m telling you, you’re special to me.”

Junmyeon gives an incredulous look at Yifan, and Yifan reacts by meeting Junmyeon’s eyes and keeps on looking even when Junmyeon looks away. “Eat now; that won’t taste nice when cold,” Junmyeon tells him.

Yifan does as he is told and he pretends not to notice the way Junmyeon tries to hide a smile.)

  
  
  


~*~

  
  


The sound of the fast running water hitting the sink reverberates in the tiled bathroom. Junmyeon adjusts the tap handle so as to make the water flow less strong, and then runs his toothbrush under the tap water before turning the tap off and squeezing out some toothpaste on the bristles.

The taste of the peppermint clashes with the taste of matcha ice cream lingering on his tongue. Slowly, as he swirls the brush against his teeth, his mind travels back to half an hour ago.

_The ‘date’ was coming to an end, and being in the same dorm with Yifan, Junmyeon had to stay with Yifan until the elevator that they took arrived on Junmyeon’s floor. Back in high school, Junmyeon had thought of him being the main lead in shonen ai manga and hoped one day he would be in that situation too. But over time he knew that fiction was just fiction; being realistic was the best way to live. So Junmyeon expected just an exchange of awkward goodnights on fifth floor, and then Junmyeon would just go up to his own floor. No expectation, no nothing._

_But sometimes, fiction could happen in real life too._

_When they reached the fifth floor, Yifan pushed the ‘close’ button. “I want to see you off,” Yifan explained. Junmyeon didn’t think too much of it._

_Sixth floor. Junmyeon bowed to the sophomore, bidding goodbye before alighting. Just as he stepped out of the elevator, he felt a tug on his wrist. Junmyeon turned around in surprise to see Yifan’s long fingers wrapping around his wrist and Yifan’s foot holding the door from closing._

_“You still haven’t said the magic word.”_

_Junmyeon thought hard. “Please?”_

_“No,” Yifan removed his hand. “It’s_ hyung _. Isn’t it about time you call me that?”_

_Junmyeon laughed. “I guess I could do at least that.” Junmyeon turned towards Yifan properly and told Yifan, “Goodnight,_ hyung _.” Junmyeon walked halfway to his room, and then he turned around to check whether Yifan had left._

_To his surprise, Yifan was still holding the door open, watching him. Junmyeon’s heart fluttered from the rather considerate action._

_When Junmyeon reached his room, he spared a look at the elevator again: Yifan was still there. Junmyeon waved at Yifan, giving a sign that ‘okay you could go now; I have arrived at my safe place’._

_Yifan waved back at him with a reassured smile on his face, and then the door of the elevator closed._

Junmyeon looks into the mirror, not holding back the smile forming on his face. Is this how it feels to be on the receiving end love, perhaps? Junmyeon used to go around with a pink sakura filter over his vision, and then it went away later on. But now he can see it is back again: he heart is in spring when it is autumn outside.

Junmyeon gets ready for bed when his phone pings.

Yifan: Goodnight

Yifan: Sweet dreams

Junmyeon grabs a pillow and flumps on the bed, reading those sweet words over and over. He sends a sticker of a bunny saying ‘goodnight’, then types ‘I’ll dream of you’ before backspacing the text. Surely, a cute sticker is already sufficient, right? Anyway, he’ll still dream of Yifan tonight.

The last thing he does before he turns to bed is changing Yifan’s contact name to ‘Yifan-hyung♥’.

  
  


~*~

  
  


Junmyeon is awoken from his peaceful dreams the next morning by the sound of his phone ringing. He answers it absentmindedly, barely looking at the screen through his bleary, sleep-filled eyes.

“Junjun, open your door,” comes Yifan’s voice.

“What,” Junmyeon groans, not appreciative of the early-morning wake-up call.

“Open the door, please, I want to see you,” Yifan says, and Junmyeon can’t resist that, tired as he is. He saunters over to the door tiredly, opening it as he rubs his eyes.

“ _Hyung_ , why aren’t you in class?” Junmyeon asks. He turns back towards his bed as Yifan follows him in, taking off his shoes.

“Oh, call me _hyung_ more often,” Yifan comments as Junmyeon flops back into his bed. Junmyeon scowls at him from his blanket nest. “Why haven’t you gotten ready though?” Yifan asks.

“For what?” Junmyeon growls back.

“I thought you had a group activity at nine thirty?”

“What?” Junmyeon croaks. He thinks and thinks to himself when did he ever tell Yifan about that, and finally remembers that he had mentioned it last night in passing. He did not expect for Yifan to catch it though. “It’s not mandatory. I’m excluded because of the competition.”

“Oh…sorry for disrupting your sweet sleeping time. You can go back to sleep.”

Junmyeon hums in approval and nearly surrenders himself to the comfort of his nest again when he realizes that Yifan is still in the room. Junmyeon fights with the devil that is surely chaining his head to the pillow and he manages to sit up against the headboard and reaches for his glasses by the side table. Yifan apparently has invited himself in for a tour, and Junmyeon personally doesn’t really have anything to hide.

Until Yifan reaches the table.

Yifan spots the photo frames that Junmyeon has and takes a look at each one of them.“Oh, what’s this?” Yifan asks. Junmyeon springs out of the bed faster than he’s ever moved before to grab the photo frame out of Yifan’s hands.

“It’s nothing! Just an idol I like.” Junmyeon flattens the frame on the desk and puts his hand on top of it.

“That was clearly me,” Yifan says in an accusatory voice.

“No,” Junmyeon replies reflexively.

“Remember I know exactly where you’re ticklish…” Yifan warns, his hands inching towards Junmyeon’s neck.

“You wouldn’t,” Junmyeon says in mock outrage, but Yifan continues, tickling Junmyeon’s neck. Junmyeon is useless when he’s being tickled, and he falls onto his bed laughing, trying to get away from Yifan’s fingers. Yifan doesn’t relent, falling on top of him, still tickling his neck. “Okay, okay!” Junmyeon finally yelps. “Fine! It’s you!”

Yifan gets up, leaving Junmyeon on the bed, and he looks at the pictures again. “When did you take this picture?” Yifan asks.

“I didn’t take it,” Junmyeon replies. “I got it from your fanclub.” Yifan turns around to ensure that Junmyeon isn’t joking.

“I had a fanclub?”

“All three of you had fanclubs, but yours was the biggest. Your Facebook fan page had more followers than the whole number of students in our school.”

“And yet they were making money out of me for free? I should get a hefty cut out of this!” Yifan studies the collage some more and mutters, “I didn’t even know these pictures existed.”

“Well, the photos and your fans have something in common then.” Junmyeon gets up from the bed and shoos Yifan away from his table. He places the items on the table where they belong and then picks up the collage. He remembers spending his allowance for the photocards and the posters. In fact, he still has the one where Yifan was high up in the air while doing a basketball dunk back in his hometown, rolled safely inside a tube where his parents won’t see.

“Hey,” Yifan calls, but Junmyeon doesn’t turn to the voice. “What are you thinking about?”

Junmyeon is still lost in his memories. “Nothing.” A few moments later, there’s a much larger presence standing beside him.

“The real person is right here with you, you know.”

“I know...but it still doesn’t feel real,” says Junmyeon.

All of a sudden he is embraced by a pair of arms, circling securely around his waist. His back is blanketed in warmth and Junmyeon swears he is about to melt. At the same time, he hopes that his erratic heartbeat will not travel through the hug.

“Still don’t believe it?” he hears Yifan whisper softly. He shakes his head weakly. Junmyeon can feel the low laughter that rumbles from Yifan’s chest before he releases Junmyeon.

Junmyeon doesn’t turn around until he hears another exclamation from Yifan after he spots another item on the table. “Such a nice bracelet.” Yifan puts it on instinctually, and Junmyeon watches on as the silver band gleams under the sunlight. “Hey, it fits me so well.”

“Of course it does. It was for you to begin with,” utters Junmyeon slowly. “I was supposed to give it to you that day.”

That strong pair of arms find themselves around Junmyeon’s waist again. “You kept it all this time to give it to me?” Yifan asks.

“Well, I wanted to return it to the store but I lost the receipt so—” Junmyeon doesn’t get to finish his sentence because Yifan has launched a tickle attack on his sides. It last less than a minute but it is proven to be super effective—Junmyeon is laughing, begging for his life again.

“Anyway, this is mine now.” Yifan announces. “It’s on me and I won’t it take off.”

Junmyeon fiddles with the bracelet that has now finds its forever place on Yifan’s wrist. It had stayed too long in the velvet box, losing its sparkle day by day. Now it had seen the light, Junmyeon hopes it stays that way.

“I’m hungry,” Junmyeon then says, not mentioning that he’s probably hungry because of how hard his heart had to work just now. Yifan tells him to get ready to go for breakfast together before Yifan goes to his next class at eleven.

  
  
  


~*~

  
  


They don’t go too far from their dorm; there’s a café conveniently situated on the ground level. It doesn’t really have many options for the food so Junmyeon orders some waffles with ice cream and strawberries on top while Yifan gets some ready packed sandwiches from the display. For drinks, Junmyeon chooses plain green tea while Yifan—surprisingly—adds a packet of sugar in his black tea.

“To be honest, I don’t really like bitter drinks,” Yifan confesses.

Junmyeon laughs at the confession. “Says the one that mocked me for drinking banana milk.”

“Hey, I was just trying to mess with you before,” the junior retaliates. “Banana milk is actually quite good.”

Junmyeon nods in agreement at Yifan’s statement.

Yifan adds some more, “But everytime I see you with a drink in your hand, it’s always banana milk. It’s like…you’re addicted to it.”

Junmyeon tries to deny it, but finds himself at a disadvantage. To some degree, he really _is_ addicted to banana milk. In the end he uses the only point that he can think of for his counter attack. “At least today I got a green tea. With no sugar.” He stresses every word in the last sentence.

Yifan nods in approval; smirk unmissed on his face. “That’s very brave of you.”

Junmyeon takes the chance to pinch Yifan’s unguarded hand on the table.

“Ah! That hurts!”

“You attacked me two times already this morning! This is nothing compared to what you have done to me.” Junmyeon scolds Yifan back, only to realize seconds later that it sounds so wrong should it falls to wrong ears. Junmyeon’s face blooms pink in embarrassment—Yifan laughing just doesn’t help.

“I think your order is taking quite some time. Do you want some of the sandwiches?” offers Yifan. Junmyeon refuses, giving the excuse that he wouldn’t finish the waffles should he take the sandwiches. Yifan tells him that it’s okay, he can finish the leftover waffle for Junmyeon instead.

When Junmyeon finally agrees, he doesn’t expect Yifan to try to feed him the sandwiches. Junmyeon tries to take it from Yifan’s hand, but Yifan doesn’t yield. Junmyeon looks around for prodding eyes, and then he takes a bite from the offered sandwiches.

“You’re really out of your mind,” Junmyeon comments. “What if there was someone watching us just now?”

“So what? I’m just sharing some food with you. Nothing wrong with that.”

A few minutes later, Junmyeon’s order is ready. Junmyeon wants to get the order but Yifan already risen from the table, announcing that he’ll get the order for Junmyeon. Junmyeon thinks to himself that it is not even afternoon, yet he has already gotten so much sweetness today.

Yifan comes back with a tray of waffles and a pair of utensils.

“The serving is not as big as I thought it would be…” comments Junmyeon as he cuts the waffles into smaller pieces.

“That’s why students don’t come here often for food. They only come here for group study at night,” Yifan explains. He then goes on talking about him once taking six espresso shots to fuel his midnight oil and then ending up having difficulty sleeping for two days.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Tiffany appears and occupies the space beside Yifan.

“My saviour!” she hugs Yifan by the waist. “Oh hey Junjun.” If nobody was looking at their table before, they certainly are now. Yifan seems to be as baffled as Junmyeon. “I knew you would be around when I needed help!”

Junmyeon sighs. Not again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember to use the hashtag #fanmyeonmoonbeam on Twitter if you'd like to interact with us on the fic! You can also @ us @gashinayah and @100_trash_exie/@eexiee ~ 
> 
> As always, thanks for your patience in waiting for the fic. 4 chapters left! 
> 
> (Which probably means about another year lol)


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